Heroes of Hylia
by tamarulyn
Summary: For the past year, Iry has had strange dreams of warriors clad in green engaged in combat with an unknown evil. Even as he flees the castle with the Prince, he doesn't know what it all means. What is happening in Hyrule and where is the hero? Timeline (game) gathering plot, including original characters.
1. Chapter 1: The Dream

A/N: Edits completed for spelling grammar and clarification of points.

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The dreams were always the same, but the main character always looked different. He consistently wore a green outfit, though the style varied every time, just like the man who wore it. This time, the young man in green fights a monster shrouded in darkness, a long blade glowing brilliantly despite the lack of sun. The man is covered in dirt, his green clothing in tatters showing the silver chain mail underneath. The white shirt he wears is stained and dirty, and the armored shoulder plates on his sword arm are dented and scratched from leading into attacks. The end of the blue scarf that is wrapped around his neck is fraying terribly, making it almost impossible to recognize the Royal crest on the end. His blue eyes shine in the darkness, his brow is set in a deep frown. There is blood trailing down his left side as he stands in front of the sea of darkness. He raises his sword arm to his face and smears some of the blood trickling from a gash on his cheek onto his leather bracer. He takes a deep breath in and then charges forward into the darkness.

Iry opened his eyes slowly. He turned over in the dark room and felt about for the book and pen he kept on the night stand. By the light of the moon, he wrote down the details of the dream. Shortly after beginning to have these dreams, he had decided to keep track of what was happening in them. For some reason, he felt that they were important. He felt a strange familiarity in them all and he also noticed that the young men in the dreams all looked fairly similar, like they were from the same family. He stopped writing briefly and placed the pen in the middle of the book. They were probably familiar because he had been having the same dreams for over a year. Iry had done some reading of the subject of dreams when he had spare time, which wasn't very often. He had read that reoccurring dreams usually meant that the dreamer was worried about something subconsciously, which made sense considering all that was happening in the world lately. He clicked his tongue once and went back to writing the dream details. After a few more moments, Iry stretched his back, hearing it crack in a few places before closing the book and setting it quietly back on the nightstand. Tomorrow was going to be a busy day, he needed to get back to sleep.

Iry was the son of a soldier. As far back as the family could recall, the males were always soldiers in the Royal Guard. This job held no interest for Iry, though; he would rather travel Hyrule and collect knowledge. He loved to spend his time in the library when he could, soaking in as much as possible about Hyrule and its history. Nowadays though, there wasn't much time for reading or adventuring. The land was especially not one to travel through, at least not anymore. There had been a time when Hyrule had little need for armies or armed caravans. There had been a steady peace for hundreds of years, resulting in economic and societal growth. More trade had been opened with Termina and adventurers traveled far distances and across the sea to see the world. The vast lands of Hyrule and the inhabitants had once long ago waged war against the armies of the Gerudo. The land of Hyrule and the Gerudos, who lived in a huge desert named the Great Desert, located southwest of Hyrule, had never had a very amicable relationship. Any relationship between the two lands was stressed even more when the King had been born.

Legend had it that every 100 years a male would be born in the Gerudo tribe. This male was destined to be the King of the Gerudo. Once such King had tried to take over the entirety of Hyrule and the neighboring lands. Iry had read that the King, named Ganondorf, had been consumed by the Evil spirit, The Demon King, Ganon. This had led him to become corrupt and due to this corruption, sought out the legendary Triforce in the hopes it would grant his wish for complete and total domination of all the lands. Thousands upon thousands of years before that, Hylia, the Goddess of Hyrule, had once waged war on the Demon King himself and had sought the help of the Hero of Hylia. Together they defeated Ganon, sealing him away for what was to be eternity. The same was true when it came to the Gerudo King, Ganondorf; the chosen hero came forth to destroy evil. The Hero of Hylia, the Hero of Time. Hyrule's heroes. There were countless stories depicting a hero arising and defeating whatever evil it was that came to Hyrule.

While there was no evil demon king or desert king, the relationship between Hyrule and the Gerudo was still incredibly stressed. The discovery of an ancient land past the Great Desert and the people that lived there had further distanced the two peoples. Any attempts to pass through the Great Desert were met with force. The Gerudo had even started to moved inward in the lands, attacking caravans heading to Termina for trade. Iry rolled to his side, his mind continuing to ponder the happenings of the world. Adding further to the problems of Hyrule were the monsters. Moblins, Stalfos and other such enemies had become bolder. It had become a far more dangerous world in the last few decades, Iry noted with a sigh, closing his eyes and trying to quiet his mind. These were not things he really needed to worry about, he was only a soldier after all. Someday maybe he would be able to see more of Hyrule, but it wasn't tomorrow. Tomorrow he was with the other hundred trainees learning simple warfare tactics.

Opening his eyes again, Iry rolled to his back and stared at the stone ceiling above him. He ran a hand through his ashy blonde hair, resting his hand on his forehead. No matter what he tried, he couldn't get his mind to stop. He kept thinking about the different things he would hear every now and then in the meal hall or in town. Talk of an impending war, talk of missing patrols or curses. It was all just too weird. Iry was never one to listen to rumours, but something just felt off in the world, aside from all the trouble being made by the Gerudo or monsters. Rubbing his face with both hands, Iry frowned and pulled off his blankets. He wasn't going to get any more sleep, so he might as well get up and do something. He shivered slightly as his bare feet touched the ground, and moved to the closet to grab his clothing. He pulled on his grey pants and a white long sleeved shirt, leaving the ties for the collar undone. Slipping on his socks and boots, he quietly headed to the door. On nights when he couldn't sleep, he would always go to the same tree and sit on the highest branch to watch the stars and sunrise. The sun rising over Hyrule was something he would never grow tired of seeing.

Sitting atop the branches felt different this morning, which irritated Iry. This was not a good start to the day so far. On the climb up the tree, Iry had noticed a bruise forming on his left hand. Now, sitting on the branch, Iry tried to inspect his hand in the dim light of dawn. He couldn't remember hitting it on anything, especially since his leather braces and gloves would soften the blow of anything that could have potentially caused the bruise. Clicking his tongue again, he looked up and watched the first rays of the sun peek up over the horizon, a warm breeze gentle going through the trees. In the distance, he heard a lone wolf howling. Strange things were happening in Hyrule, but it wasn't for Iry to worry about.

As the sun rose higher into the sky, he could here the sounds of the camp coming to life. Standing up on the branch, Iry raised his arms for a full bodied stretch before slowly beginning his decent of the tree. He would need to get dressed fairly quickly, as he didn't want to be caught in the terribly long lines at the breakfast lines. He didn't usually eat much in the morning, but this was one of the times he was able to spend some time with his father, albeit the two didn't really talk too much. Iry wasn't a morning person, a trait he inherited from his father. The two enjoyed the short meeting though, and always took the chance to see each other. vaulting to the grown, Iry sprinted back to his room. Once there, he quickly donned his chain mail and equipment. Looking at himself in the mirror, he pulled his white uniform over his chain mail, and buckled up his brown leather belt. He placed his left shoulder armor piece on and adjust the two buckles quickly. Finally, he pulled the long red scarf around his neck. He grabbed his long gray gloves and bracers and stuck them in his belt, leaving the room as he tied up the collar of the white undershirt.

He had dilly dallied too long, and noticed the line for food had gotten a little too long for his liking, so he quickly walked outside and scanned the tables for his father. Spying him, Iry began to walk to the table, pulling on the gloves and buckling up the bracers as he went. Iry's father looked up at his son's approach, his deep blue eyes scanning the young man's uniform. As Iry sat across from his father, adjusting his shirt, his father smiled in greeting.

"Iry," his father began, the wind gently tousling his golden hair. "It is unlike you to be this late and unkept." Iry looked at his father quizzically, before looking down at his uniform. There as nothing out of place. Looking up again, he saw his father handing him an apple. "You've forgotten your leg bracers". Iry Accepted the apple and frowned, shaking his head and giving a sigh. This had been the worst start to a morning he had had in an incredibly long time. He would have to leave breakfast early to go back to grab them.

"It hasn't been a very good morning," Iry admitted, rubbing a gloved hand over the apple before taking a bite. His father nodded, and began eating his own breakfast. Iry's father was a brave man. He wasn't known as being incredibly skilled in any one area of combat, but he was smart and because of this, he had been pulled from soldiering to help the tacticians. Iry's father, Rom, was an average height man with a lean build. His hair was long, and tied in a high pony tail. He wore a grey, dusty cloak clipped in to the plate armour on his right shoulder. He had tanned skinned, and many laugh lines. Rom was a light-hearted man, and Iry had a difficult time imagining him in a combat situation. Rom didn't have the feel of a soldier to him. Rom noticed his son's stare and tilted his head slightly before closing his eyes and lifting his head to the breeze. He took a deep breath in, opened his eyes as he exhaled. Iry noticed the side of his father's mouth turn down slightly, wondering what his father was thinking. As if reading his mind, Rom looked up at Iry and pursed his lips.

"I'm sorry to cut our breakfast short this morning Iry, but I need to go." Iry took another bite of the apple and nodded to his father. The two stood up together. Rom lifted his bowl from the table and shrugged his shoulders back. Rom reached his hand out and shook Iry's hand. "Perhaps we can meet quickly this evening over a drink. I have business outside of Hyrule castle I will be departing on in a few days and there is something I want to discuss with you." Iry nodded in acceptance and let go of his father's hand. Normally, Iry's training had him working late into the evening and his father was even more busier than Iry. It would be nice to relax a little with his father. " Don't forget the bracers, Iry," Rom called as he walked away. Cursing, Iry took two giant bites from the apple and turned to go back to his room. He couldn't be late for training, not if he now wanted to finish early to meet his father.

By the time Iry had raced to his room and grabbed his bracers and then ran to the training ground, the opening instruction had already begun. He quietly slipped into the grounds, hoping he was out of few of the instructors. Iry wasn't concerned about getting into trouble, he knew that these instructions wouldn't really help him. Despite his father's lack of combat skills, this was something the Iry excelled at. He had never had difficulty with swordsmanship or marksmanship and was excellent at hand to hand combat, despite his smaller stature. His combat skills, coupled with his intellect, had let him push forward in the ranks with ease. The instruction and training now was more to keep him from becoming complacent in his training and skills betterment.

As Iry stood in the back, he couldn't help but hear some of the Royal guards discussing an incident quietly, closer to the weapons draw. Try as he might tofocus on the instruction, he found he kept tilting his head to the conversation happening just a little ways from him. The guards were discussing an attack that had recently taken place on one of the royal caravans. No one from the Royal family had been present, the caravan had been a diplomat returning from some trade talks in Termina.

"There wasn't anyone left alive," The taller of the two whispered to his friend. "The entire caravan was wiped out. The weird thing was, it wasn't the Gerudo and it wasn't a monster raid."The second guard shook his head, moving a finger to his chin.

"It honestly doesn't make sense. There have been so many of these attacks, even the Goron have mentioned it. How is there still no one who can identify what happened?" The first guard shrugged in reply. The second guard noticed Iry's stare and motioned to the first. They both turned and looked at Iry silently, before staring again at each other. With a curt nod to the Weapons guard, the first guard walked away. Iry turning back to the gaggle of trainees, but found he couldn't listen the anything happening around him. This was the first time he had heard about this, and it had apparently been happening for a while. Iry bit his bottom lip in thought. Today was turning out to be such a strange day. His attention returned to the group as they all began talking and moving to the weapons draw. Iry moved into line, trying to force the thoughts from his mind. He would take sword again today, his preference, he thought absently.

"I know you heard what we were talking about," a voice cut into Iry's thoughts. He looked up and saw the weapons guard holding Iry's training sword. "Do not speak a word to anyone." Iry stared at the guard impassively, taking the sword and turning away. What did it matter if he said anything, he was probably not the only one to hear them discussing the issue. He clicked his tongue and moved across the grounds to where the veterans were practicing. Iry scratched the side of his head, his short hair prickling his fingers. A veteran soldier walked up to Iry, offering his hand and smiling at the young man.

"Ready to have your ass handed to you?" The man asked, a smirk on his face. Iry grinned and accepted the grisly man's hand. This was Dagner, a captain of the Royal Guard. The scars on his face alone were proof enough that he was highly skilled and not just bragging.

"I don't really think that's going to be the case this morning," Iry replied, releasing Dagner's hand and taking the proffered shield. Danger gave a deep laugh and motioned for Iry to follow. Iry grinned again and took a deep breath in. Today, no matter how off it had started, he was finally going to beat Dagner.


	2. Chapter 2: The Prince

A/N: I couldn't sleep so decided to try and hammer out another Chapter. I think I am going to continue the story at a moderate pace so that I can make sure I'm getting some character depth. I should be ready to continue on with the plot line, though I have a couple things I want to iron out in time. As always, please don't forget to send in a quick review to let me know if I need to clarify anything or elaborate in the chapter. Since I am the writer, it all makes sense to me, so I may not notice if an explanation is missing or unclear.

I had some issues uploading this chapter with the formatting, so I may have missed some corrections. For that, I apologize!

Cheers!

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The Royal family was known throughout the kingdom to be fair and just. There really wasn't any member past or present that strayed from that description. The Royal family of Hyrule was unique. Though not all members had been born royalty, the lineage could be traced back all the way to the ancient city of Skyloft. This knowledge though, wasn't common. It was in fact only something that was really known by the Royal family, much like the knowledge of the Triforce, the Golden Goddesses, the White Goddess Hylia, the heroes. There was so much that was not public knowledge and it was kept that way for a reason. The history of Hyrule was very intricate. The stories parents told their children when going to bed, the legends and myths that people have forgotten about, the Royal family were the keepers of the true history of Hyrule. Each direct descendant of the King was taught every detail, including the existence of the other realms and of the sorceress, Cia, who keeps the balance.

It was during one of these lessons that Leif, the oldest son of the Royal family, found himself. He was gazing absently out the window to the green fields outside the castle walls. He had dreamed about travelling the lands since he was a small child. He longed to see the Kingdom of Termina, the Great Desert and the Greater Sea. He wanted to see what was across the oceans. He sighed and leaned his head into his hand. But that wasn't what was going to happen, his place was here. He was after all, the heir to the throne. His father was in great health and his mother in even greater health so he knew that he wouldn't have the responsibility of the kingdom thrust upon him anytime soon, for which he was definitely thankful for. As the heir, it was Leif's responsibility to ensure that he had a complete understanding everything. There was not one thing that he could not know about.

"Leif," a voice cut into his thoughts. He turned his head and met the gaze of his tutor, an older man named Galien. Galien was a Sheikah, a very secretive tribe of people, well versed in Shadow magic. Their tribe was tasked by the Goddess Hylia to protect the seal of Ganon, and her mortal reincarnation. Over time, they had became the advisors and tutors of the children. Galien had just passed his 42nd year, but you would not have really been able to tell. The Shiekah all had white hair, and dark tanned skin, hich gave them a very youthful appearance. Galien wore a cowl over his head, and a mask over the bottom half of his face. " I am well aware that this is not something that you are particularly fond of hearing repeated," the Shiekah said flatly, " But it is unfortunately something that we must discuss again." Leif tilted his heard backwards and let out a loud sigh.

"I know, Galien," Leif replied dryly, continuing to stare at the ceiling. "I just don't know if I can stomach hearing this history lesson another hundred times." Galien said nothing in reply, though Lief knew he was smirking at the young prince. Galien moved to the window silently and stared out to the fields. After a few minutes, he turned to Leif.

"Recite to me the story of Skyloft," Galien said evenly, resting a hand on the window sill. "Should I find no faults with the tale, we shall proceed to the training grounds." Leif shot his head forward, looking at Galien straight in the eyes. "You have my word."

"Back in the first ages of creation, the Goddess Hylia waged a war against the Demon King, Ganon. In order to save the youngest species, humans, of the time, Hylia set the stage for the very first Hero to awaken. By twisting the events of his life, she put him through a series of difficult tests to prove his worthiness. These pushed him to anger, as they stressed his friendships, his morals, his courage and his loyalty. But in the land's greatest time of need, he rose to the challenge. This hero's name was Link. Hylia gave Link the Sword of the Goddess and bade him to re-forge it. This was the only way that the true power of the Sword could awaken. For a week, Hylia and her army fought the Demon King until finally Link was able to awaken the power of the Sword. With the help of the Crimson King of the Loftwings, an ancient species of giant bird, Link and Hylia were able to split the earth and transporting the humans of Hylia into the air, creating a floating city called Skyloft. The first Hero of Hylia died then, and in her grief, Hylia shed her divinity in order to create the circle of reincarnation of both her and Link's souls and to make up for the suffering she had put Link through. In future times, whenever the people of Hylia were in need, a hero would be born," Lief took a deep breath in, having tried to summarize the history as quickly as possible. Galien didn't say anything for a moment, and the two stared at each other intensely.

"Not quite what I was expecting to hear, but it was still a summary of the creation of the Isle of the Goddess." Galien said, breaking the silence. He moved to the other side of the round room and picked his Bo Staf. Lief stood up from the bench he had been sitting on and stretched. The room they were in was circular, with windows lining the walls every couple of feet. It was simple room, at the top of a small tower. It was quiet and was where Galien preferred to bring Leif for their lessons. Leif turned to Galien who was waiting by the door of the room, ready to leave for the training grounds.

The tale of the Goddess and her reincarnation cycle always piqued Leif's interest, even though he would never admit it. The idea of living on the Isle of the Goddess, Skyloft, was like a dream. It had been over 2 millenia since the events of the Era of the Sky, no one even knew if Skyloft still existed, though there was mention of it in one and only one document, still floating in the sky in some unknown area.

Another that Leif always thought about was the reincarnation of Hylia. The Royal family would usually assume that there would be some terrible happening in their lifetime if a princess was born. She would be trained in combat and in knowledge, should she be the reincarnation of Hylia. There were signs though, always signs that showed when a Princess was the reincarnation. Leif's younger sister, Aleigh, didn't show any of those signs. She was being trained regardless, much to her dismay. As Galien and Leif continued to walk to the grounds, Leif couldn't help but give a small chuckle at the thought of his sister and himself. They must be the least interested Royal Children to ever be born to into the Hyrule family.

Galien and Leif walked through the giant stone archway leading into the Training Grounds. It was more like a tunnel then an archway, Leif noted, as they came out the other side. The pair walked past the training soldiers, with respectful nods and salutes coming from the trainees. It had take a couple years for Leif to convince the Guard that when he came to the Training Grounds, he was just like any other person. He liked to take part in the training and he especially liked to interact with the soldiers. He had quite a few friends amongst their numbers now, which made Leif especially happy. In particular, Leif's closest friend was a soldier in training.

"Iry!" Leif called, as Galien split off to find whomever it was he was searching for. Lief was used to Galien dissapearing and had long since stopped asking where he went. The lean young man battling in front of him gave a grunt in reply as he dodged an attacking hammer. Iry and Dagner, a captain in the Royal Guard, were often dueling each other. Leif enjoyed watching the two battle it out and always found he was slightly jealous of how skilled Iry was. At that exact moment, Iry vaulted into the air and over Dagner, twisting his body so that he was delivering a vertical slash to Dagner's back as he passed over him. As soon as Iry's feet touched the ground, he executed a perfect no handed back-flip away from Dagner. In response to the slash, Dagner had immediately swung his giant war-hammer, using the momentum to bring himself around. He stopped his swing and slammed the head of the hammer into the ground, giving a booming laugh as he did so.

" That was fantastic!" He bellowed to Iry, as the younger man placed the dented, dull shield on the ground. The wooden training sword in hand, Iry stepped forward and the two combatants clasped wrists, signalling the end of the competition.

"I believe that puts me ahead by one match now." Iry said calmly and with a wide smile, his crystalline blue eyes glinting in the sun. Dagner issued another booming laugh and turned away shaking his head. Iry looked over to Leif and raised his fist, Leif bumped the side of Iry's fist with his own. This was always their greeting, and it always looked weird when they did it, but they continued to do it. "How were your history lessons?"

"The same as usual." Leif replied shortly, taking the wooden sword from Iry's hands. He swung it around, executing parries and attacks to imaginary enemies. Iry wiped some sweat from his forehead with his red scarf, watching Leif's movements. Something was off with his friend, but he couldn't quite pinpoint what it was. Iry was probably the only person that Leif was truly relaxed with. The two had known each other for almost their entire lives, though their meeting had been a complete fluke. Iry had a tree he would climb all the time and from the tower that Leif had his lessons, he could see the tree. This tree was the biggest one in the area, with branches as thick as the trees around the courtyard. The tree had been there since before the castle had been built, and had last through the countless battles and wars. In any case, Leif never looked at the tree when Iry was in it but always wanted to climb it. One day, he decided to sneak away from Galien with the intent to climb the tree and claim it as his own. Long story short, Leif tried to climb the tree and managed to get about half way before he slipped. Iry was normally only ever in the tree in the early hours of the morning, but for some reason had felt the need to climb it that afternoon. He was in the tree just a short distance below Leif when the prince fell. Iry caught him, effectively saving the Prince's life. Iry had never gone in the tree during the day again, and Leif never climbed it a second time.

"What is on your mind?" Iry asked bluntly. Leif stopped swinging the sword and just stood there. He didn't say anything, just stared out into the distance. Iry waited patiently for the Prince to answer the question, shifting his weight and running his hands through his hair. Leif turned to look at Iry. The young man was average height, maybe even a little short. He was lean, but had a fierce and handsome face that betrayed his size. He had ashy blonde hair and the most crystalline blue eyes Leif had ever seen. He wore his hair in an odd style, short o the sides and longer on the top. His long Hylian ears were pierced, and he looked like he was always about the get in a fight. Iry's thin blonde eyebrows furrowed slightly. Leif gave a small smile before handing the wooden sword back to Iry.

"Nothing," Leif said slowly, "Something just feels weird today." Leif took notice of Iry's look of surprise. It was only a split second, and then Iry's face went back to neutral. He nodded , taking the sword in his left hand and balancing it in his hand. He looked at Leif suddenly and grinned mischievously. Leif knew what Iry was thinking and nodded, looking for an extra training sword. Iry picked up his shield and tapped it with the wooden sword as Leif ran to the Weapon's Guard quickly.

"I'm not going to go easy on you, Prince." Iry smirked, as Leif returned. Leif swung his sword in a circle, before crouching slightly towards Iry.

"Easy? I would be offended if you made this easy." Leif replied, tapping his shield and signalling the beginning of the duel. At the same moment, Iry and Leif leapt towards each other, their wooden swords meeting between them, splinters of wood flying off their practice weapons. Galien watched the two duel from afar, taking in a long slow breath and exhaling just as slowly. This was an interesting friendship, indeed.

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Hmmmm... Curious. It's a slightly smaller chapter than Number one, I ended up taking out a big chunk from the history portion as I felt it wasn't particularily necessary at this point in the story.

Don't forget to comment/review!

Cheers!


	3. Chapter 3: Courage

"Iry, do you ever think about the Hyrule legends?" Leif asked him softly, keeping his gaze out on the fields. The two were sitting on a parapet towards the front of the castle, watching the wind blow over the long green grass of the fields in front as the sun slowly drifted behind the mountains in the North. Iry didn't say anything, but looked down at his friend. The Prince had light brown hair, that was slightly long, but was kept pulled back in a small ponytail. On one side of his head, he had a braid in his free flowing bangs, similar to the one seen worn by Sheikah. His pale skin was dotted with freckles, and his hooded, upturned blue eyes had flecks of green in them. He was slightly stockier than Iry, with broad shoulders and muscular arms. Leif did not have the trademark blonde hair and blue eyes of the royal family, but he did have the spirit. Leif was caring and kind, despite what he would try to portray to others. No matter how much he complained about the duties and responsibilities, his heart beat for his people. Leif closed his eyes, and inhaled softly. Iry turned his head back to the fields and waited for Leif to continue.

"The very first hero, Link. He went through so much because of the Goddess and he had no idea why. How is that even fair? Why didn't he get a choice? Because he was chosen to be the hero, his life was full of crappy situations and he suffered because of it." Iry turned to regard his friend again. This was something they talked about often. For some reason, despite Leif's love of the Hero of Hylia legends, he was incredibly bitter about this one piece of history. Iry agreed with him, it wasn't the best way to choose a hero but he didn't feel like it was something they should really be bothering with. While Leif saw the truth in the legends, Iry saw them more as fiction meant to give lessons. Leif knew how Iry felt, however Iry still supported the Prince's expression of thoughts. He would never say it aloud, but Iry was glad he was able to support the Heir in a way that allowed Leif to comfortably work through his thoughts and problems. He by no means thought he would ever become anything more than Leif's best friend though. "Did any of the heroes have a chance to be happy? I feel like the pressure of having to save the world and watching people get hurt or die could not have just been brushed away when the job was finished, you know? What did the heroes get afterwards, if they weren't killed?"

"Isn't it enough that they were able to save everyone?" Iry asked quietly, adjusting the leather strap around his chest. "I'm sure they knew what they were getting into when they took their respective quests." Leif scoffed and opened his eyes, turning to face Iry. The two of them knew that that final sentence wasn't true. To be chosen as the hero, you don't get a say. Either you become the hero or everyone dies. It wasn't an ideal choice. The two sat in silence again, both feeling tense but not really knowing why.

"What is happening in Hyrule." Leif lifted himself up of the stone, brushing off his black pants. Iry followed suit, turning to look at the other, his blue eyes boring into Leif's own. Crossing his arms, Leif frowned, unsure how he should answer or what Iry was meaning with the phrase.

"Honestly, I'm not really sure." He looked over his shoulder to gaze at the near empty training grounds. "There has been quite a lot of turmoil happening close to the Desert, but Father won't even let me in on what's going on. It gives me a very bad feeling." He shrugged before dropping his arms to his side flatly.

"The air feels tense," Iry noted with a nod. "I overheard some guards discussing a Royal Caravan attack this morning. They seemed very uneasy and on edge." Leif nodded, but could offer no further information. The two young men turned to look out the darkening fields again. As if on cue, a lone wolf let out a long howl again.

"It's been years since anyone has heard a wolf this close to the castle." The words hung ominously in the air. Iry's bruised hand started to throb slowly. He slowly unclipped his bracer, and then pulled off his glove. Leif turned to look at Iry, leaning forward to take a look at his hand. "How did you managed to get a bruise that bad on your hand? That is crazy!" Iry shrugged his shoulders absently. He really didn't have a clue. In the dimming light of the day, he could see that the bruise now covered the entire back of his hand, and was a sickening shade of purple, blue and black. He pressed on it, but it didn't hurt. It just throbbed. With a small hum, Iry replaced his glove and bracer. It was getting fairly later into the evening and Iry had planned to meet his father, so he placed a hand on Leif's shoulder.

"The Goddess does as she will. With any luck, no more heroes are needed and Hyrule will be relatively safe for quite some time. I would stop worrying so much about things that can't be changed. Besides, the princess hasn't shown any signs of being the reincarnation of Hylia." Leif smiled slowly to Iry before giving a nod. Taking his hand from Leif's shoulder, Iry motioned to the stairwell leading off the parapet and back to the courtyard. "Young Prince, do you require an escort back to the main house?" Leif punched Iry in the shoulder before walking past him and down the grounds below. He was grateful he was able to vent to Iry, even though the young soldier never really had much to say. At the far end of the courtyard, Iry and Leif tapped fists before leaving in opposite directions.

"Iry!" Leif said before Iry had gone too far. He turned to look at the blonde haired soldier before giving his signature smile. " I'll let you know what I find out, if I can find out anything. If you hear anything interesting around the grounds make sure you let me know. I have a feeling we're going to have to do some sleuthing of out own". Iry nodded, smiling in return before continuing out of the courtyard. Leif turned and started away again, biting his lip. He had much to think about, mostly concerning the information that Iry had given him. He was going to have to confront his father and get some more information on what was going on outside the castle walls. Reaching the entrance hall of the castle, Leif stopped in thought. Despite his stomach grumbling, he really wanted to get some more answers, the suspicious feeling growing even more. He wasn't sure why, if there were incidents like the attack on the Caravan happening often, his father didn't feel like it was necessary to let Leif know about it. Realistically, Leif didn't actually need to know, that he understood, but if he was supposed to be King one day it only made sense that the young heir would be exposed to these situations and how they were solved. With a frown and a sigh, Leif moved to the Grand staircase in the center of the entrance. His footsteps echoed off the stone walls of the empty hall, reminding him of how unnecessarily large this room was. Based on the hour, Leif expected his father to be in his study. Thinking back, his father had seemed to retreat there more often in the last couple of weeks.

* * *

Iry moved slowly into the meal hall. He felt like there was something he should be doing at that moment, but he couldn't figure out what it was. Leif and Iry could usually talk for hours about any number of subjects but the encounter this afternoon had largely been a quiet one. They had sparred for a good couple hours before moving to the Castle wall, and hadn't really discussed anything of any importance at all. Iry was never a big talker, but he felt that he has spoken less today than he had in a very, very long time. Leif had seemed more upset about things today, and if Iry was to believe the Prince, he was upset about nothing. Just generally irritated. Iry clicked his tongue and scanned the room for his father. Rom had said to meet him here, but he couldn't see him. Iry was late, but he wasn't that late and his father wouldn't leave without saying something. Iry grabbed a plate of food and moved to a table in the back of the large cafeteria like room. There weren't many people in today, which was also slightly odd. Iry sat down, wondering if this was some sort of foreshadowing event. He rolled his eyes and began eating. Times weren't like that anymore. Raids on castles were things of the past. Besides, as much as Hyrule and the Gerudos didn't get along, neither would attack so far into the opponents territory because neither wanted a total war scenario.

Iry had finished his meal and still his father hadn't shown up. Frowning, Iry glanced around the room again. He was pretty much the only person left. It was unlike Rom to be so late and even if there had been something that was keeping him, Iry was certain he would have sent some form of message. Iry pushed his chair away from the table and adjusted his bracer. This was unlike his father, but he wouldn't think on it too much. While Rom had said he was leaving, he hadn't said he was leaving tomorrow so Iry could discuss whatever it was Rom wanted to talk about over breakfast in the morning. He started walking out of the hall, giving a small wave to the barkeep as he passed by. The blonde stopped in the doorway and took another quick glance around the room before exiting. As he walked away, he unconsciously grabbed his hand and started rubbing where the bruise had formed. The air outside the hall was still and eerily quiet. Iry glanced around, unsure of what he was expecting to see. He couldn't pinpoint why but knew something felt wrong. Different. Seeing and hearing nothing, He dropped his hands to his side, looping his thumbs into his leather belt and headed to his room in the soldier's barracks.

No sooner had he crawled into his bed, did Iry hear heavy footsteps in the hall outside the barracks. He rolled over and stared at the crack under his door, where a faint light shone through. He saw the shadow of whomever was hurrying through the halls pass by his room. A few moments later, more foot steps were heard in the hall. Unsure what was going on, Iry contemplated getting out of bed. With a deep breath in, Iry decided to stay in his bed and closed his eyes. There was always something happening in the barracks and since he had been able to have very little sleep the night before, it was probably a better idea to just leave things be. Slowly but surely Iry began to fall asleep. There were small flashes of light behind his eyelids as he thought about everything that had happened that day. Eventually even these images drifted away and he slumbered.

 _The young man fell to his hands and knees. The world around him had a very eerie feel to it, like it was caught in a perpetual dusk. His hand glowed and his body shook as he fought some unseen foe. His face was a mask of sheer pain, his brows furrowed deeply. He gritted his death, a agonized groan escaping his lips. Behind him, a tall pillar of darkness circled, seemingly watching the young mans battle. From the dark shape, there was a series of distorted yet quiet sounds, like a musical instrument that was being bent out of shape while being played. Sweat dripped off the man's face as he started to gasp and yell in pain, his body beginning to shake violently. He took in a deep strangled breath, gripping at the dirt before throwing his head back and issuing a loud, tortured scream._

Iry's door slammed open, causing him to shoot forward into a sitting position, immediately alert. He could feel his short clinging to his sweaty body. He turned his head to the doorway to see his father standing in the door way, looking down the hall. Rom held his right arm close to his body, visibly in pain. Iry tore the blankets off of him and jumped out of bed towards the older man, who had take two quick steps into the room and kicked the door shut. He turned his head to Iry.

"Get dressed now." He said angrily, lifting his hand and inspecting a deep wound on his arm. Iry didn't move, unsure of whether he should dress or tend to his father's arm. Rom looked up at Iry with a scowl. " Now, Boy!"

Iry immediately tore off his sweaty shirt, throwing it to the ground and walking to the closet. he ripped off the remaining sweaty clothing and quickly replaced it. Rom tore a piece of Iry's blanket and proceeded to tie the strip tightly on his arm. He then moved to the small desk beside his bed and leaned to look through the tiny window. Iry finished tying his boots and stood up straight. His father tossed him his pack, telling him to pack lightly.

"Put on your gear." Iry was thoroughly confused and stared blankly at his father who had returned to the window.

"Fath-"

"Iry, there is no time. Just do what I say now and do it quickly. We must leave immediately," Rom snapped, not moving from his watch of the window. He cursed and quickly moved out of sight. He turned and looked at Iry, who was still standing in place. "IRY" Rom hissed again. Iry shook his head, snapping out of his daze. He turned and quickly jammed a set of fresh clothing into his bag. He tossed it on the bed and began to put on his gear. His father pulled a blanket from under Iry's bed and tied it to the bag. Rom knocked into the table, starting as the pen from Iry's book fell to the ground. He turned and looked at the ground, his eyes falling to the open book. The old tactician snatched the book up and slipped through the pages, stopping to give Iry a surprised and serious stare. " What is this." Iry looked up at his father. That hadn't been a question, more like an accusation. Iry's eyes fell to the book as his body continued to place on his gear on muscle memory.

" I have dreams that I don't know the meanings of," he replied quietly, unsure of what to say and not wanted to further anger his father. There was a screech from outside that halted any further speech. The father and son froze immediately, with the latter of the two's blood freezing. Rom motioned for Iry to lay as far as he could to the floor, out of sight from the window as he himself suck into the shadow and space between the desk and the bed. Iry looked to the end of the bed, silently take a crouched step to hide behind it. He bent himself low to the ground, keeping his eyes on the floor. A scratching began to sound outside the window, steadily growing louder as whatever was outside drew closer to Iry's window. Another screech sound, loud enough that it made Iry squeeze his eyes shut. Heavy breathing and grunting soon joined the scratching as whatever was outside gave a giant huff, blowing dirt from the window across the room. After a tense moment, the sounds began moving away from the window once again. Even when the sound couldn't be hear anymore, Iry was still frozen in place, his heart pounding. He jumped when he felt something touch his shoulder, pushing himself into the wall. He looked up with panicked eyes to see his father's stern face. With his uninjured hand, Rom placed his palm on Iry's cheek for a moment before giving it a pat and motioning for him to stand up.

Iry's heart pounded. What had that thing been? What was going on? What had happened to his father? A thousand questions flew across Iry's mind, the most prevalent one being: Why are you so afraid? Iry slowly stood up and tilted his head against the stone wall. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, willing his mind and heart to stop racing. He was a soldier. He shouldn't be afraid. He was no coward. He opened his eyes to see his father looking at him, the dream book still in his hands.

" Put this in the pack," he said, tossing the book to Iry. With one more deep breath, Iry snatched the bag off the bed and shoved the book inside. His father glanced around the room quickly, trying to think if there was anything else they could take with them. Iry glanced to the window. There were monsters in the castle. Here. Of all places. "Let's go." Iry looked at his father.

" We have no weapons." he said flatly, with a sideways glance to the window again. Rom turned to look at Iry before moving to the door. He motioned for Iry to come closer as he slowly and quietly inched the door open, peeking around the doorway to see if the coast was clear. He pulled Iry out the door and the two sprinted out the corridor, opposite of where the monster outside had gone. Logically, if made no sense to go where the monster had come from, Iry thought, because there should have been more. The halls were empty and their footsteps echoed in the corridor. As they approached the corner of the hallway that led out of the barracks, Rom slowed to a stop. He peered around the corner, listening to the sounds outside. As if he had timed it, the father-son duo heard the rumble of horses galloping to them. Rom Pulled Iry's arm as they darted out of the corridor and to the field. The soldier barracks were outside the Castle walls, to the west of the fortress, so Iry wasn't surprised that there werent any alarms sounding. The noise wasn't loud enough for someone to wake, and if there had been anyone wandering around, they were probably dead. Somewhere in the night, a screech sounded, making the hair on the back of Iry's neck stand up and his blood freeze. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest. Rom turned to look back at his son, noticing the blank expression on his face and guessing the cause. He frowned and turned forward, giving Iry's arm a quick tug as the continued to run into the field. There was no shelter, no where for them to hide and no weapons to use if a monster attacked them. Rom Halted quickly and turned toward the direction of the castle, giving a quick sharp whistle. From the darkness, two horses came galloping in. On the back of one was Galien and Lief, the second horse empty. Leif look just as confused as Iry, looking more shocked when the horses stopped in front of them.

"Get up, Iry." Rom said, pushing the blonde towards the horse. He quickly mounted the agitated chestnut coloured horse, Rom jumping up behind him. It was very uncomfortable in the small saddle with the two of them on it. Galien and Rom shared a quick glance to each other, silently discussing the situation. Leif turned stiffly to glance at Iry, who glanced over quickly before turning his head away in embarrassment. He was a coward, he thought to himself. He gripped the mane of the horse and squeezed his eyes shut, biting his lip. Some soldier he was. Through the darkness, someone screamed loudly. The lone scream soon had echoes of equally terrified and agonized screams. Cutting through the noise of them all, the creatures that had infiltrated the castle roared in anger. Iry looked over to Leif again, who had clamped his hands over his ears in an attempt to drown out the rising screams from the castle. Iry looked down at his hands, his knuckles white as he clenched the horses man as tightly as he could, steeling himself against the sounds.

"Be brave, Iry." his father whispered into his ear and the horses charged forward and away from the castle.

* * *

Sorry for the abrupt ending, the chapter was getting fairly long. I've been going through and re reading the last couple chapters correcting pieces of the content here and there and just generally trying to smooth out details as they get pointed out to me.

Please continue letting me know your thoughts either through the review button or through PM!

Cheers!


	4. Chapter 4: Sacrifice

Apologies on how late this Chapter 's long, and I definitely had a block writing it. It just didn't flow as nicely as my notes would have made me believe it would! Regardless, I hope you enjoy this longer Chapter!

Cheers

* * *

Leif couldn't close his eyes, he couldn't sleep. When he closed his eyes, all he could see were his parents laying on the floor, blood everywhere. He could hear their screams echoing through the castle as they yelled for them to run away. He could hear the screaming of the guards in the room next to theirs.

How had the monsters gotten to the castle undetected? How did no one know what was happening until it was happening? What happened... Leif had always wanted to leave the castle, but not like this. Never like this. Leif started as the first cracked in from of him, it's orange hue lighting up the solemn group of four. Rom and Galien were discussing something quietly, Rom's face in a deep frown. Leif didn't think he had ever seen Rom look so serious, Nor Galien for that matter either. It could only mean that things were very bad. Leif buried his face in his hands, clenching his eyes shut. He silently cried for all the people he had seen dead on the way out of the castle. He cried for his parents and his missing sister. He cried because he couldn't do anything to help them.

With a deep breath, Leif composed himself and wiped his eyes. The dirt from the ride mixed with the tears and stung his eyes, but he ignored the uncomfortable feeling. He looked up at the fire, blinked and turned to Iry, who sat next to him. Iry had had a faraway look in his eyes since they had stopped to make camp. He hadn't spoken a single word or made a sound, either. He didn't even acknowledge Leif's presence. Leif felt lost, he didn't know what to do or what to say. Everything had happened so suddenly.

One moment he had been arguing with his father, trying to get more information on what was going on with the attacks Iry had mentioned, while his mother was trying to discuss with Galien where the Princess had gone. And then... They were all screaming. Leif picked up a rock and held it in his hand, rubbing his thumb across the rough surface. His sister, Aleigha was somewhere. Galien wasn't mentioning anything to do with her and Rom was avoiding Leif. He tossed the rock into the fire, hitting one of the logs and causing it to slide into the embers. Iry shifted his eyes from the ground to the fire, quickly losing focus.

He had been afraid, so incredibly afraid. The simple tasks his father had asked him to do had taken such a toll on him. He was the son of a soldier, fear wasn't in his family. He was the best swordsman. He was incredibly smart and strategy and tactics came easy to him. He was agile and proficient in any sort of weapon. But he had been paralyzed with fear. He had felt like a child, unable to do anything. Iry bit his lip. Leif had tried talking to him a few times throughout the evening, but Iry couldn't look him in the eye. He know that Leif thought highly of him. What would he say if he knew how useless Iry had been. For all his bravado, he couldn't even pack a travel bag on his own. Frustrated, Iry let out a small "tch" and squeezed his eyes closed, brows furrowing deep. He was ashamed to be called a soldier.

Iry was aware that Leif was watching him and could see the turmoil on the Prince's face. Iry had no idea what was happening, he had absolutely no clue. He could hear Rom and Galien stand up and walk closer to the fire and the two young men. Leif tore his gaze from the brooding blonde and gave a weak smile to the older men. Rom's gaze fell on Iry and he took a deep breath in. Galien said nothing, he red yes staring at the fire.

"Hyrule is under siege." Rom said simply, his gaze remaining on his son. " The castle has been taken and the King and Queen killed." He turned to look at Leif, noticing the shine in the boys eyes as he fought back tears. "The Princess has been kidnapped and I'm afraid it's my fault. All of it. I couldn't protect the Princess, just like I couldn't read the signs." Leif shook his head, laying his hands on his crossed legs. "I can only assume that they have killed the entire Royal family, except for the Prince." The group was silent, the weight of those words hitting them all.

"No one could have seen this coming, Rom. I'm sure you did your best." The Prince said slowly. His words sounded hollow, even though he really did mean it. Iry didn't move at all or make any sign that he had heard what Rom had said. The group was silent again; the only sounds the crackling of the fire and the wind through the leaves around them. They had made camp as far from the Castle as the horses could carry them, being burdened with two riders on each. Though they were surrounded by foliage, they had chosen an area where two sides were covered by a rock face. Galien had mentioned a cave a few kilometers away, but with the coming darkness they didn't want to take a chance making their way there, or getting caught with no light entering an unknown cavern. The group continued to sit in silence, unsure of what their conversation should be. So much had happened in so short a period that the information still wasn't fully processed in their minds.

Iry stared into the fire, his fingers flicking the sharp edge of a dagger. He had frozen; had been so afraid and he didn't know why. He had been in battle before, he had trained and knew the dangers of the world. He was frustrated with himself, for not understanding where the fear was stemming from. He twitched his hand slightly as he had absently pressed too hard on the dagger tip. He looked at the small cut on his thumb, the blood rolling downwards and dripping to the ground. Why was he so afraid?

Rom announced he would take the first watch and bade his companions to rest while they could. He knew they had a long way to go and not a long time to get there. Rom settled against a tree, further aware from the dimming fire so that it wouldn't ruin his night vision. He could hear the tossing of the restless Prince, surely just as deep in thought as he was. They were hoping to reach a satellite Sheikah village closer to the border of Hyrule. With the castle overtaken, it wouldn't take long for the lands to be filled with Monsters. They needed to find out who was behind the attack, and see whether they could organize some form of offensive force. With at least one member of the Royal family still alive, it wouldn't be difficult for the surviving army and allies to rally with him.

 _The Princess had been the target_ , Rom thought to himself, biting the tip of his thumb. No doubt, this enemy had known the important nature of the Royal family daughters. If the princess was truly dead, there would be a lot of fear and hesitance to strike an opponent, regardless of if she was the reincarnation of Hylia or not. For the most part, the people of Hyrule knew of the wars waged against evil in the past, though the intricacies of it all were lost or unknown. Rom wondered if it would be possible for Prince Leif to muster the courage needed for the people to follow and fight. Whomever they were against had played a very good opening hand, Rom hated to admit.

* * *

Galien burst into the camp, a mere hour after he had relieved Rom of watch, and threw dirt onto the cooling embers of the fire.

"Get up!" He whispered urgently, quickly shaking each man and leaving a weapon by them. The three jumped of the ground, grabbing the weapons and looking into the darkness. "The horses are gone, and we are surrounded." No sooner had the words left Galien's mouth, then a mob of monsters burst through the trees to the group. Before they knew it, the group was split as they fought and tried to move away from the stone face.

"How the hell did they find us!" Rom yelled, pulling a sword from the back of the dead horse. Galien slammed his bo-staff on the ground, a sharp spear point shooting out of the end with a click. Without a moment's hesitation, he swung it forward, driving it deep into the charging Moblin's head. He turned to meet Rom's eye frowning and shaking his head before dodging another spear. Rom turned to look at Iry and Leif, who had become separated from the two older men. They stood back to back, Iry holding the long sword and Leif with two dirks. Rom parried a stalfos' attack, slashing the creature's neck with one quick movement.

"We need to move to the Prince!" Galien called to Rom, executing a spinning slash to a group of bulbins who were stupidly charging into the death dealing sheikah. The two fought hard to get to Leif and Iry, their attention split between the foes immediately in front of them and the surrounded battling duo who continued to get pushed further and further from them. Galien vaulted over Rom, landing on a large moblin's head, using the higher, unstable ground to pick off enemies quickly. Rom took the distraction to dodge further into the mass of enemies, calling out to the boys to fight their way to them. Rom glanced around, no longer to move any closer, trying to figure out a way to get away from the horde of creatures. He cursed to himself, not seeing a way out. The amount of monsters seemed endless. In an attempt to give themselves a better and safer position, the group had really only made it easier for this ambush. Rom let out a frustrated yell, spinning out of the way of an incoming jab, ending the spin with a thrust into the next attacker. In all his years of fighting and working as a tactician to the King, he had never made such an error in judgement. He looked over to Iry and Leif, slashing another monster across the chest. Leif was battling a group of three lizalfos, vaulting, dodging and thrusting with a great deal of grace. His movements were fluid and precise, his efforts apparent judging by the dead monsters lying around him.

Iry also had monsters lying around him, however his battle seemed stiff. Rom frowned, fully realizing that despite their discussion, Iry was still having an internal battle. He was letting his fear cloud him, a dangerous action that could get him killed. Iry vaulted over his current opponent and landed a deep slash across the moblins back, immediately turning to slash the lizalfos behind him and then thrust forward into a second moblin. Rom could see that the two were beginning to become fatigued by the way they were swinging their whole bodies into their attacks and parries. They needed a way out. Iry rushed forward, quieting the voice of terror in his mind and parried a sword strike heading to Leif's back. He could feel the back of his hand burning and wondered if he had been hit, but a quick glance noticed no blood or injury. He executed another spinning sword strike, immediately rushing head on into a group of smaller moblins.

"Iry, help!" he heard Leif call out to him. He turned quickly and saw Leif being rushed by a Goblin, with a group of Stalfos and lizalfos coming in close. With the Goblin's size, there was no way Leif could take them all on, but Iry was cut off. Try as he might, he couldn't get through to the Prince.

"Leif!" Iry yelled angrily, slashing a bulbin across the face. "Leif!" He bit his lip and jumped over a Moblin, landing on top of a couple Stalfos before jumping away again. He would get to Leif. With a final leap, he jumped up and onto the Goblin, stabbing it's arm as it swung its huge battle axe down at an otherwise engaged Leif. Pulling his sword out, He moved to quickly attack the goblins head, but as the creature whipped it's head back in a howl of pain, Iry was caught off balance mid strike, and only managed to carve a deep gash across the back of the Goblin's shoulders. He fell off and stood next to leif, shaking his burning hand. Iry swung his sword forward trying to hit the giant monster a third time, but was blocked by the shaft of the axe. His sword pinned, the goblin ripped a spiked hammer from the hands of a bulbin and swing it furiously at Iry. Iry moved his left arm up to attempt a block, knowing if the hammer hit he was dead.

As a spike on the hammer hit the back of Iry's hand, there was an explosion of light. Iry dropped the sword in his right arm and grabbed the wrist of his left arm, screaming in pain. The light exploding from Iry's hand burned his skin and sent shooting pain up his shoulder and to his neck. Everything stopped moving as the light burst forward, monsters all over the area shrinking and blocking their eyes.

Rom used the opening to burst forward to the boys. He kept running, regardless of the stinging spears and swords, taking opportunities to slash at the monsters as he darted past. He had to get to them; He had to get them out. Iry's yell stopped and he collapsed to the ground, the brightness slowly dissipating. Leif sprang into action and started taking out large swatches of enemies still stunned by the bright light erupting from Iry, Iry had gotten up on one knee, his left arm hanging by his side as he fumbled for his sword. He heard Leif curse and call to him as some monsters had broken away from his killing area and rushed to the stunned Iry. Leif and Rom called to Iry in unison as a huge bloodied spear shot towards him. Iry, unable to move, watched the spear get ever closer to him. He wanted to move, but he was frozen. Why was he so scared? _MOVE Dammit!_ he yelled at himself, managing an arm twitch. he squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his teeth, waiting for the spear to hit.

But it never did. Iry could feel something warm running down his cheek. He opened his eyes to see the spear tip touching his cheek, warm blood from the tip falling down his cheek. He looked up to see the back of his father.

"Iry, whatever fight you are going through inside yourself... is not something anyone can help you win... but you need to be brave... and face your fears..." Rom fell to his knees, one arm on the shaft of the spear. " I'm so proud of you.. Iry..." Rom turned to look over his shoulder and fix a bloody smile to Iry" Be.. brave... son.."

"...Father?" Iry choked, raising a hand. Rom fell forward with a thud, and Iry clutched at the IRy frantically "FATHER!"

"Iry, get up!" Leif yelled, running back to his friend and pulling his arm. Iry's eyes were fixed on his father's body as Leif pulled him into the cave. Galien appeared behind them, throwing a small bomb at the veiling and blocking the entrance. Leif swung Iry around and slapped him across the face when they had stopped briefly for a breath. "Pull yourself together Iry, this isn't the time to pity yourself. we have to get out of here."

Iry wiped his face, the tears and blood on his cheek smearing as he wiped. He was weaponless now, his sword by his father. He turned and faced Leif, before turning his head so as not to meet the prince's gaze. He couldn't. Galien eyed the boy curiously. Iry was a completely different person from the Castle soldier. There had been a glimpse of the old Iry when he had rushed to save Leif against the Goblin's attack, but the Iry standing here was not he. This Iry was perpetually afraid, with no known trigger. They started their run again, silently.

A short while later, they stopped once again. The cavern they were in had a slight glow to it, as the burning keese flew through the stalagmites. Though they couldn't see it, they could feel the heat from a river of lava, telling them they were going to far into the Death mountain range. Sitting on a rock, Galien looked to Iry who stood with his head down, making no sound.

"Iry," Galien said sharply. "Give me your hand." Iry looked up and walked to galien, offering his gloved hand to the older man. Galien pulled Iry's glove off and inhaled sharply. Glowing brilliantly on Iry's hand was the symbol of the triforce, the lower left triangle shimmering boldly. Galien looked up to the stunned face of Iry, who pulled his hand away and took two steps backwards, shaking is head. He stopped, dropping his hand.

"You bear the Triforce of Courage," Galien said, standing up and fixing an intense stare at Iry. "You are the hero of time." Iry couldn't move. It was as if his body had forgotten how to do anything at all. This couldn't be real. He stared wide eyed at the ground, his upturned blue eyes wide with shock. It couldn't be real; it was impossible.

"Iry," Galien said flatly. The boy still didn't move. Leif pursed his lips and wrung his hands. He had never seen Iry like this before and no idea what he should do. Iry was always the level headed one talking sense into Leif. Since they had left the castle, Iry hadn't spoken much to Leif and in some instances even avoided him. Even when Rom and Galien reported that the Royal family had been assassinated, Iry still wouldn't talked to the Prince. Iry was supposed to be the brave one. He was supposed to be the one who had the plan. Leif was supposed to be able to depend on Iry. Leif dropped his hands to his side and slowly stood up, head down. His bangs blew across his dirty face as he slowly walked towards Iry. Whatever was wrong with Iry, he needed to get over it. He needed to be himself again. If not for Leif's sake, then for his own. For his father, who had given his life so they could escape! Leif clenched his hands, stopping in front of Iry who still had not moved. Leif noticed Iry shaking, the soldier's eyes clenched shut and his mouth clenched in a grimace.

"What is wrong with you." Leif hissed through his teeth. Iry's breath hitched slightly but he still didn't move. "Iry, what in the name of Hylia has gotten into you!" Galien moved a step forward before stopping when Leif shot a furious glance his way. Iry looked up at Leif, and unfamiliar look in his eyes. It was a look of fear. Where someone else would have softened at the look, it only served to make Leif even more furious. He snarled at Iry, before slamming his fist into the blonde's face. Iry flew backwards into the dirt, blood immediately trickling down onto his lip. He made no move to staunch the bleeding, the look of fear on Iry's face replaced with one of sheer surprise. Leif grimaced and shook his hand a bit.

"What is your problem, Iry? You have the least things to worry about." Leif spat, clutching his wrist and staring Iry down. Iry shifted his glance to the side, his hands clenching the grass underneath him. His brow furrowed and he blinked.

"I didn't ask for this." Iry whispered, not looking at Leif. "I can't do this. Fighting Moblins and Stalfos... Is easy." Finally, he turned his wild, wide eyes to Leif. "This is evil incarnate! This is not something I can do. It's impossible! I shouldn't even be here." Leif scowled again and launched himself at Iry. He couldn't understand why he was so angry. Iry had every right to be scared, didn't he? Iry made no move to defend himself as Leif landed on top of him, the leather strap and his shirt clenched in the furious Prince's hands.

"My family didn't ask for it either." Leif growled, his face inches from Iry's. "My little sister just wanted to pick the goddamn flowers, Iry. Now she's a rotting corpse, just like your father." Iry stared impassively at Leif. "Nobody asked for this. But we have to step up. Ya, you shouldn't be here. You should be dead or a prisoner in the castle. But you aren't, you're too busy being alive." Leif threw Iry backwards, flinching inwardly as Iry's head hit the ground and then stood up. "You're supposed to be the best. That's why I asked for you. That's why Rom and Galien risked their lives to get you. Because I needed you. You're supposed to be my best friend." Leif turned away from Iry and shook his head. " You were so arrogant and cocky. A fake." He started walking away, back to his mat. He stood staring at the bedroll for a moment. "You're a coward."

Iry felt as if he had been stabbed in the stomach. His head and face were throbbing, but he didn't move from the ground. He was supposed to the Hero of Hyrule. He bore the mark. He was supposed to be the keeper of the Triforce of Courage. His father had entrusted the safety of Leif and Hyrule to him. But how could he, someone who had barely seen 17 years, possibly defeat this Evil. Courage seemed to be the one thing he didn't have.

He was a coward.


	5. Chapter 5: Friendship

Days had passed since the attack on the castle, but the tension was ever present. Iry and Leif hadn't spoken a single word since their last encounter, avoiding each other as m uch as possible (which wasn't very much). Iry, Galien noticed, seemed to be deep in thought much of the time, while Leif spend the majority of his time either glaring angrily at Iry or smashing is sword against the long grass as they traveled.

After their run into the cave, they had stayed in one place for a day to gather their surroundings. it took them a good amount of time to find their way out of the cave system, but eventually, whether by skill or sheer luck, they had found an old network of tunnels that led them out into the ruins of a small city. Unfortunately, these ruins were much closer to the castle than they wanted to be. If the attack on the castle was any sign, whatever evil had started this situation had probably taken most of Hyrule at this point. They needed to back track, out of the tunnels but out of sight.

Galien found Iry lying at the base of what looked like an old windmill. The blades had long since rotted and fallen off and the stone column was barely standing, large chucks of brick missing from one side. Iry had his eyes closed and his hands behind his head. He made no sign that he had heard Galien's approach. Galien could hear a constant _thwack-thwack-thwack_ as Leif smashed a long piece of wood against the remains of a house below them somewhere in the rotten village. Galien leaned against the firmest looking portion of the stone remains, his bo-staff gripped in his left hand. Since the announcement of Iry as the Hero of Time, there had been no mention of Iry and his destiny, or of the Triforce on his hand.

"My father used to tell me about the Hero of Time that lived with the Kokiri," Iry said, his eyes remaining closed. Galien surveyed the village below them, and waited for Iry to continue. Iry opened his eyes, propping himself on of his elbows and staring absently at his feet. "He was a child." Iry lifted his left hand to stare of the covered mark. "A child had enough courage to face an absolute evil, to save someone he didn't know and a land he barely cared for. I couldn't even save myself." Iry dropped his hand to the ground, picking a long strand of grass and pressing it to his lips, a crisp sound coming off it. Galien shifted slightly to look down, noticing Leif leaning on the ledge below them. "Leif was right, I'm a coward. I froze. I couldn't move." Iry tossed the piece of grass into the air. "How am I supposed to protect him? The land, Hyrule? I don't deserve to be a Hero. I don't deserve the Triforce of Courage. I don't deserve to protect the Prince."

"I have no answers for you." Galien said simply, looking up at the sky. "Courage is found in many places, you need to find yours." The two sat in silence, listening to the wind rustle through the long grass, creating a moan as it blew through the ruins. Leif crossed his arms and smirked, shaking his head slowly. "You're father believed in you, Iry." The simple phrase cut through Iry, the same way Leif's comment the last time they talked had. Iry leaned forward, his head in his hands. Galien looked over to Iry. Truthfully, Iry and Leif were still so young, but had already seen more than many old soldiers. Their hearts, souls and bodies were really still those of children. It was a big burden to carry, without the additional weight of being the chosen of the Triforce.

Leif climbed up the ledge, kneeling when he reached the ground where Iry and Galien were rested. Galien looked at Leif, and then walked away. Leif rested his elbows on his thighs, leaning forward slightly onto his toes. His blueish green eyes staring at the ground beside Iry. Leif picked a small blade of grass, and played a note on it, similar to how Iry had. This sound was quieter, softer. Iry looked up, his crystal blue eyes meeting Leif's frown. The two young men stared at each other, neither moving. Iry could recognize the Prince's anger, while Leif could see his friend's sadness.

Leif dropped the grass and fell onto the ground, rolling over to lay on his back beside Iry. Iry dropped his hands back to the ground, staring at the space Leif used to occupy. Leif raised a hand in the air to block the sunlight, his eyes squinting. He couldn't think of what he wanted to say, but he knew there was a lot to say.

"I didn't mean what I said," Leif finally managed, still staring at his hand in the air. Iry blinked and turned his head to look at Leif. "Well, not completely." Iry frowned and nodded. "But I didn't mean I didn't want you around. I was angry and hurting. I needed your strength. But I didn't see you were hurting too. And that was selfish of me." Leif waited to see if Iry would say anything to him, but when no reply came, he closed his hand into a fist and shut his eyes. "I heard what you said to Galien." Iry's eyes widened, his lips pursing. He shifted one of his legs, bending the other as he sat upright, elbow resting on the bent knee. No matter what he was feeling, Leif had always been by his side, Iry had never been one to talk about his feelings, even to Leif. It was usually Leif complaining about things. If Iry really was Leif's closest friend, then didn't he owe it to the Prince to be one? Leif had even said he had asked for Iry before they ran from the castle. Leif effectively had saved Iry's life.

"I am afraid." Iry said, quietly. Leif opened his eyes and dropped his arm. He lifted his torso off the ground, turning to face Iry. "I am afraid to fail. To succeed. To die." Iry turned to look at Leif again. "I'm afraid of this destiny I didn't choose." Leif stared open mouth at Iry for a moment, before giving an exaggerated blink and smiling. He sat upright and clenched his fists in front of him. He looked at the village, still smiling.

"I feel like we are coming full circle, Iry" Leif said softly, closing his eyes as the wind blew across his face. Iry lifted an eyebrow in confusion. Leif looked at Iry, bringing his fist between them. "Isn't it enough that you have the chance to save everyone?" Iry's mouth dropped open, his eyes wide in surprise as he stared at the brown haired, smiling Prince in front of him. Iry caught himself, and quickly smiled, nodding. He had said that to Leif just days ago. How ironic that they were here, discussing that very same topic. Iry bumped his fist against Leif's own. The two looked back out towards the castle in the far distance.

"Iry, I'm not going to ask you to be courageous." Leif said, his tone serious. "But I will ask you to come along with me, regardless of this Hero of Time news. You are and always will be my best friend. If you are only able to be that for me, then that is good enough for me." Iry stood up from the ground. He bent forward into a deep bow, his eyes narrowed and determined. When he righted himself he held a hand out to Leif, which the prince took.

"My father's last words to me were to face my fears." Iry stated, lifting the Prince from the ground. "I am terrified, all the time. I wonder if this is what they felt when they discovered the truth." Leif shrugged his shoulders and smiled at Iry. Iry took a deep breath in, exhaled and flexed an arm. "I will follow you, Prince Leif." Leif nodded before fixing a hard stare at Iry.

"I'm still fairly angry, though." Leif said. Iry looked like he was going to say something, but then decided against it. He stood still in front of Leif, arms at his side. Leif hardly ever pushed princely attitude at Iry. "Regardless of what you are going through, there is a time and place. I said I wouldn't ask you to be courageous, and I won't. I'm telling you as your Prince and friend, though, to keep your feelings out of the fight. I don't want to lose anyone else."

"Understood, Prince Leif." Iry replied smartly, with another bow. Leif was right, Iry knew. Rom's death was partly Iry's fault and that was something he was going to have to live with for the rest of his life. His father saved his cowardly son. Iry couldn't promise anyone that he would be able to act justly and bravely in the future, but he could try. Verbalizing what had been on his mind to Leif had been liberating, but it hadn't solved the issue. Iry still shivered when he thought about the Thing that had been outside of his room when his father had gotten him.

"As your friend, I hope you will tell me your fears, so that you don't have to fight them alone." Leif said quietly, looking away from the blonde. Iry grinned and tapped his fist on Leif's chest, before hopping off the ledge. Yes, the issues were still there but the weight didn't feel as heavy to Iry anymore. Leif hopped down next to him, and the two walked towards the center of the town in silence. The sun was high in the sky, the heat beating down on the land. Galien stood underneath the shade of a rotted roof, coming into view as the young duo closed in on the center of the ruins.

"This place is the remains of a village called Kakariko." Galien said, offering the young men two canteens of water. He looked around the ruins, his red eyes searching for something. Leif wiped water from his chin and screwed the lid back on.

"Kakariko was the original Sheikah village, wasn't it?" He asked, handing the water pouch bag to Galien. Galien nodded his head once.

"Formerly." He took Iry's pouch back, looking towards the ruins of the windmill. "At a time when Hyrule was at War, it was opened to the poor. The Sheikah left a few years after." Leif raised both eyebrows and back down quickly, crossing his arms. Iry hooked his thumbs into his leather belt.

"How does this help us, Galien?" Leif asked, after waiting for the older man to continue. Iry turned around and looked towards past the windmill ruins. He took a breath in, realizing the implications. He turned to look at Galien.

"We are much too close to the mountain." Galien nodded and looked up a small hill, Leif and Iry following his gaze.

"There is an old entrance to the mountain on the crest of that hill." he said, calmly, picking up his bo-staff. "This village was abandoned about 15 years ago, when a great fire dragon took up residence there. Even the Gorons were pushed from their home, to the mountains further in the range. Some even left and travelled to Termina." Galien turned to look at the pair. "Regardless, this area is controlled by a great enemy. Greater still now that the castle has been overtaken. The appearance of the Triforce of Courage can only mean this is not a Gerudo led assault. Evil has awoken in Hyrule once more." Iry clenched his hands into fists to stop the shaking. He gritted his teeth, determined to stay calm. Leif put a hand on Iry's shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze. A deep breath in and Iry could feel himself calming.

"The princess showed no signs of awakening as Zelda." Iry said after a moment's hesitation. Leif nodded, moving his hand to his forehead, mulling over past events to see if there had been something he and his family hadn't noticed. After a moment he let out a frustrated huff and shook his head.

"No matter how hard I try, I can't think of a single moment where she showed any signs." Leif said. He stopped suddenly, looking at Galien with a dark expression. His hands dropped to his side. "Could...Could it have been my mother?" Galien took a deep breath in and Iry shifted his feet uncomfortably.

"With the speed and force that the castle was attacked... And the violence of it." Galien trailed off, noticing the expression on the Prince's face. There really wasn't any way of knowing if one of them, his mother or his sister, could have been the reincarnation. In the end, it didn't matter.

"The reincarnation of Zelda and Hylia is more a symbol than anything else." Iry said suddenly, his voice calm. He turned to look at Leif. "We have a member of the Royal Family with us, and that should be enough to rally the soldiers and people of Hyrule." Leif looked at Iry, unsure how he should react. Despite trembling with fear not even moments before, Iry was standing calmly in front of them, much like he used to on the castle grounds. Galien nodded, looking back towards the mountain. "If what you said is true and this area has been overwhelmed with monsters, we need to leave immediately while the sun is highest in the sky."

"If my memory is correct, there should be a way to leave through the back of the village." Galien replied, looking at the water pouches in his hands. "It will, however, take us close to the backside trails of Death Mountain. We have one weapon, very little water and no food."

"The entrance to this village also opens into the Zora River, too close to the castle." Iry added

"We are going to have to choose the lesser of two evils," Leif said, splitting the silence. Iry and Galien studied Leif, who was biting his lip while staring at the ground. "In the end, we need supplies and weapons. We need to get as far away as possible and somehow get word out that we want to form some kind of army."

"We really have no information about what has been happening in Hyrule, or for how long." Iry nodded, looping a thumb in his belt. Galien handed the water pouches to Iry, who looked at them for a moment before taking them and shoving them into the pack on his back. "Galien, I don't supposed you had any information?" Galien tightened his grip on his Bostaff.

"Truth be told, Rom was the one who had the majority of information." Galien said quietly, his mouth unseen from behind the scarf he wore. Iry clicked his tongue. He didn't say anything out loud, but his posture portrayed how he felt. It was his fault that they didn't have all the weapons or Rom. Leif punched Iry in the arm, his eyes narrowed in warning. Iry responded by taking a deep breath in and exhaling slowly. "I do know some things as Rom mentioned them quickly last night, but the depth of it all I cannot answer. I have been out of contact with my people for a long while now as well." Iry swung the pack back onto his back.

"Alright," He said, looking at the sun in the sky. "Lesser of two evils, the choice with the most benefits is to go to the Zora's domain. At least there we may be able to acquire some provisions."

"If they haven't been overrun..." Leif added quietly, looking back in the direction of the castle again. Galien began walking away in the direction of the castle, Leif following just after. Iry watched the two of them walk away, eyes on Leif's back. He would protect the Prince. He had to. he closed his eyes for a moment and he clenched his fist before jogging after the two. He would protect what was important to him.

* * *

By the time they had reached an opening in the woods to the fields in front of Hyrule castle, the sun had gotten low in the sky. They had left the village as quickly as they could, taking extra care to avoid any unwanted attention. It had been very slow going, despite how quickly they were moving, since they did not travel the old, overgrown trail. They had managed to slip passed a large group of bulbins prowling after a deer, but still have to defend against a small attack from a few weaker monsters. Contrary to what Iry and Leif had believed to be a sound tactical decision and leave the corpses as fast as they could go, Galien had pushed them a few feet away and waited. The sounds of the quick fight had drawn in some moblins, who investigated the deaths incompetently.

After the longest 10 minutes of life, the moblins soon dispersed, having picked the corpses clean of anything valuable. _Relax._ Iry released the branch he held in his hand stiffly, his knuckles white from the force with which he had gripped it. Leif let out a long exhale and held the rusted hilt of a chipped sword to Iry. Iry slowly took the blade, readjusting his grip on the handle a few times. Once they were sure there were no more enemies in the nearby area, Galien urged the duo to move silently through the bush. With the sun setting and the darkness increasing, they all were beginning to feel incredibly uneasy. The last thing they wanted to do was to sleep in the darkness of this unfamiliar forest. Iry and Leif exchanged a look concerned about the direction they were headed. Behind them and through the trees, they could see the billowing volcano, Death Mountain. They didn't think that it was so far a distance to the river. Even if they got to the river, they still had to follow it all the way up to the hidden entrance at the Falls. There were a series of waterfalls there and not very many people knew which one housed the entrance to the Zora's territory. They, the Zoras, had disengaged themselves from the happenings of Hyrule an incredibly long time ago. It wasn't often a Zora was seen around the waters of Hyrule, the majority of the species had moved closer to the ocean and away from the castle. There was no animosity between Hyrule and the Zoras, it was more that the latter saw no benefit to staying where they were. Even still, not all had left and the trio hoped they would still be able to find some help there.

"We are about to enter into a clearing separating the forest from the River." Galien said, stopping short of the edge of the forest. Leif could tell that Galien was very wary of their next step. "We will need to sprint to the water. Do not stop until you are in the river flow. The current will not be strong, however do not allow yourself to be pulled downstream. Should something happen and we are separated, follow the riverbank up to the Falls." Iry clenched the sword in his hands, steeling himself for the sprint. In his head, he repeated to himself that he could do this.

"Are you expecting something to happen?" Leif asked, looking out into the clearing. "Would we not be able to follow the forest's edge to the water?" Leif pointed to the trees furthest from them, a semicircle around the clearing. Galien lowered Leif's arm and shook his head. Iry looked to where Leif had pointed, noting the scene above the trees.

"There's a camp of some sort there." He said quietly, squinting in the growing darkness. "You can see the trail of smoke above the trees." Galien looked behind them, his red eyes narrow. He pulled off his cloak and handed it to the Prince, who stared at it hesitantly.

"From now on, you need to remain a secret, at the very least until we are out of this area." He said pushing the cloak into Leif's chest. "You must remember to fully internalize the signs around you. We passed many tracks on our way to this spot. It took us far longer to reach this destination because of our need for secrecy. You can no longer be Leif, heir to the Throne of Hyrule." Leif took the cloak, stiffly putting it on and pulling the hood over his head. Galien used a small dagger to cut the edge of the cloak that was trailing on the ground, pulling a strip off and tying it over the hood of the cloak. Only Leif's eyes were visible now, the sight of which made Iry snicker at the Prince, earning him a dangerous glare. Galien wore dark clothing, comfortably loose on his person. His scarf still hid half of his face but now his silver hair was visible, tied back in a loose braid. For an older man, he looked very fit to the young men.

Iry looked down at his own attire, quickly pulling off the sash embroidered with the Royal Crest. He tucked it under a bush, buried under some leaves. He used the rusted blade to scratch off the emblem on the metal plate of his bracers. When completed, he looked up at Galien and Leif, who nodded.

"We need to add clothing to our list." Leif said, pulling the cloak closed. Iry pulled off the empty scabbard attached to his belt.

"For you, yes. "Iry said as he buried the scabbard, quietly rubbing the dirt off his hands as he stood up. "You have such princely clothing."

"There will be time to talk after." Galien cut in, his voice sharp as he looked up at the sky. "We are quickly running out of time." The two nodded, and readied themselves for the sprint. Iry slid the stolen blade in the leather straps on his back. It rested uncomfortably, but he wanted to have his hands free in this run. "We will run separately. When you reach the water, try to enter as quietly as you can." Galien explained, stepping next to Leif, tapping him on the shoulder. "You will go first." Leif turned to the clearing, quickly looked down to see if there were any immediate obstacles in his way before the clearing. "Stay low, run fast." With the final word, Galien pushed Leif's shoulder, the young prince catching his feet and bursting forward in a sudden sprint.

Iry and Galien watched tensely as Leif managed to cover a third of the distance relatively quickly. Iry turned his gaze to the far side of the clearing, expecting to see some enemy watching the Prince's dash. "Iry, quickly." Galien grabbed Iry's arm and pulled him close. "Protect the Prince at all costs"

The older man said as he pushed Iry into the clearing. Iry's mind shut off then, his eyes focused only on the dip in the ground where the river was. Leif was close to the edge now, the cloak billowing out behind him as he ran. Something picked at Iry's chest, a sense of danger. He quickly looked to the trees on the far side again, but wasn't able to see anything. _Right!_ Iry snapped his head to the right, his right arm grabbing the rusted sword on its own and slashing at a charging stalfos that had emerged from the ground. In front of him, he could see the ground shifting as more of the skeletal monsters prepared to rise from the dirt. It was dusk now and Iry knew that this was the time when the monsters made their entrance to the fields. Iry felt like his heart would explode from his chest as his legs moved faster than he thought possible. _Left!_ Again, Iry's arm seemingly independently to his left, connecting with the skull of another stalfos. Leif was out of sight now, and Iry could guess that Galien had already begun his sprint but dared not to look behind him. Through the wind of his sprint, Iry could hear the sound of the river. A small series of splashes told him that Leif had made it into the water. The riverbank came into view and Iry struggled to put the rusted blade back into the straps on his back. He slowed down, trying not to disturb the rocks and to enter the water without making too much noise.

The water was cold and bit at Iry's skin through his clothing. He took a sharp breath in as the water engulfed him. He looked up and saw Leif a few meters ahead of him, trying to look over the water bank. Slowly, Iry walked against the current to Leif, looking over his shoulder for Galien. They waited another five minutes, but there was still no sign of the older man.

"There were Stalfos on the way." Iry whispered to Leif. "Could he be waiting?" Leif didn't take his eyes from the bank where Iry had entered.

"I don't think he intended to come." Leif eventually replied. Iry clicked his tongue, eyes narrowing. Galien had given them everything useful he had had on his person, they just hadn't realized it. Leif looked up the river. It was getting very dark and they would soon be unable to see anything, the moon hidden by a layer of cloud. Iry put his hands on Leif's back and slid past him.

"Grab hold of my belt." He said, squinting into the dark. "I may not be able to see too much better than you can, but I can still make out a lot of detail." Leif grabbed a strap on Iry's back, where the scabbard of his sword used to me. His hands were cold and it was difficult to keep hold of the leather. "We will continue in the water for a little while more and then exit to the grass." Leif nodded, his teeth chattering. He knew Iry couldn't see him, but still did it. Slowly, Iry started walking forward. The current was definitely quick, like Galien had said it would be, and Iry used his hands to create a natural split in front of him with the water to try and keep the sound of the water splashing against them a little less noticeable. Eventually, the water started to rise up their chests, signalling that a drop off was close. Iry stopped walking and slowly edged to the river bank. There wasn't a gradual descent to the water anymore, so Iry grabbed the lip and slowly raised himself up to peek over the edge. His clothes clung to him, and he was very aware of the sound of the water dripping off him. He glanced around quickly, turning slightly to look at the other side bank. Not seeing anything, he rested his forearms on the edge and slid himself slowly out of the water, sticking as close to the dirt as possible.

Once on the bank, he lay still in a prone position and waited for any sounds in the dark. He went to the edge and grabbed Leif's forearm, and then shoulder. Once Leif was partially over the ledge, Iry slid to the left and pulled Leif's legs. Galien's cloak was heavy on Leif's shoulders and clung to him tightly, acting like a rope. Leif gave a quick nod in thanks to Leif, he slowly rose to one knee, looking around again. The air was cold, especially so with their wet clothing but a fire was something they couldn't use. Leif rose next to Iry, also looking around them.

"We need to find somewhere out of the open." Leif whispered his voice almost inaudible. Iry nodded, pointing up the river. Neither of them expected to find anything, and hoped the temperature wouldn't drop any more than it already had. Leif wrung the cloak out as much as he could before standing up, Iry following closely. With a quick adjustment of clothing, the two darted up the stream, eyes wide as they tried to take in as much of the area around them as they could in the dark. The darted through and around pillars of dirt, the only remains of a series of bridges above them. The closer up the stream they ran, the louder they could hear the falls. Leif frowned in the dark. Galien had told them how to get to the falls, but not which waterfall housed the entrance. What if the entrance was blocked? Neither Iry nor Leif had ever been here before, so they didn't know any other way through or around.

Suddenly Iry stopped, Leif banging into the soldier's back and causing him to slide forward slightly. Leif placed a hand on Iry's arm and looked out to where Iry's head was turned. The path they had taken had opened into a hole in the forest. They hadn't realized it, but they had entered into a portion of the mountains. They stood on the edge of a cliff, overlooking a bowl in the mountain. A cold wind blew past them, causing them both to shiver violently. On the edges of the bowl, all the way to the cliff side hundreds of meters above them, were waterfalls. Everywhere they looked, there was a waterfall, some higher ones joining with lower ones. What little light there was seemed to reflect off the incredible amount of water. Iry stepped forward and peered over the edge of the cliff. He could see the metal clips where a bridge used to be attached, but now there was no bridge. He cursed silently, motioned for Leif to take a look. They quickly looked around the edge to see if there was any other way of getting down or across, but had no luck. Whether there was nothing there or it was too dark to see anything, the young men couldn't say.

"We can't stay in this spot." Iry whispered as another gust of wind blew through them. Leif exhaled impatiently, biting his thumb. He dropped to his stomach and reached over the ledge to the clips. Maybe if there was still some rope… He sat up and gave a small growl. There was nothing left. They both looked over the edge into the darkness below. They couldn't see how far up they were or what was below them, it was too dark. Iry lifted his head and looked around.

"Do you hear that?" He asked Leif, straining to hear the sound. Leif looked up at Iry, confusion on his face.

"Hear what?"

"It sounds like whistling." Iry closed his eyes and tried to focus on the sound. Leif shook his head,

"I hear nothing, Iry." He whispered, wrapping his arms around himself. "I only hear my teeth chattering." Iry opened his eyes, giving up. The two turned around and looked down the path they had run up. They were exhausted, cold and hungry. "Perhaps we should backtrack and find a place to rest." Iry nodded, looking over his shoulder again and into the bowl. He could still hear the whistling. It was a melody, though he couldn't quite hear it over the sounds of the falls. Oddly enough, he didn't feel like it was accompanied by danger. "Iry." He turned and started after Leif, who had already started to walk down the path. There had been one path that led to a dead end. You could still see the main path from the back, but not if you were walking past it quickly. It wasn't the best place to rest, but it was certainly the best they could do in the current situation. Iry looked down at his left hand and clenched his fist. It felt warm.

They sprinted to the back of the dead-end path, kneeling close to the stone wall in an attempt to blend in to the shadows. Leif pulled off the cloak and cloth stripping and lay it on the ground. It was heavy and wasn't drying as quickly as his clothes were. Iry pulled the rusted sword out of the straps and laid it next to him as he leaned against the stone face, his hand resting on the hilt. He looked over at Leif quickly, who had already closed his eyes, his head resting against the stone, arms crossed over his chest. Iry took a breath in and closed his eyes, his ears ringing as the whistling continued.


	6. Chapter 6: Zora's Domain

_"I'm sorry," the blonde haired maiden said, her voice sweet and musical, "but this was the only way I could prepare your mind and soul for this task." Iry clenched his fists angrily. No, it isn't me, Iry thought as the scene continued._  
 _"We have put you through some much pain, I am so very sorry, Link." There was an angry chuckle coming from the mouth that wasn't Iry's._

 _"I am only useful when I am needed." The man, Link, was giving a rueful smile, shaking his head. "But I could never forsake my home or its people, even if these past 4 years have been a living hell." A group of men, 5 dirty, battle weary soldiers, stepped forward and smiled at Iry/Link. "We will save Hylia, together" He said after a moment, taking a long silver sword from the woman in front of him. A giant crimson bird shot from the clouds, landing in front of them all with a huge gust of wind._

 _Who amongst you is worthy to be my rider? The bird's words echoed in their minds. Iry tried to turn his gaze to look around him, the scene continuing to play out in front of him. In another moment, Iry realized he had no control of this dream and that he wasn't actually taking part in this. He was seeing things from someone else's perspective._  
 _"This is the King of the Loftwings, The Goddess' Loftwing" The woman spoke out, her voice clear and determined.. "The sword, the Goddess' sword, must be reforged by your own hands. When you truly awaken as my chosen hero, so too will the sword." Iry's vision became blurry, the sounds muffled as the scene in front of him changed._

 _Towering in front of him was now a huge monster, its red mane flowing in the breeze. The stench of death was filling the air as the monster laughed, a blood chilling sound. Iry's body charged forward to the monster, the heavy sword glinting in the darkness. Though Iry didn't feel anything, Link stumbled and fell to a knee after a vicious clash. His hand was on his left side, blood flowing down from just above his hip, a deep gash showing through a tattered green tunic. In one hit, he had been very clearly mortally wounded._

 _Link exhaled his breath cloudy in the air as he slowly forced himself to stand. With a swat of its gigantic hand, the monster threw Link into a rock face where he stood up, stumbled and fell, his face in the dirt. Though Iry couldn't move or speak, he was silently willing the man to stand. He could hear the flutter of powerful wings and a screech as something soared to the ground, landing in front of Link. Stiffly, Link lifted his head to look at the Crimson Loftwing. The massive bird lowered its head to the man; Iry's gaze was not being shifted away from the man's, giving him a full view of the scene in front of him._

 _Are you giving up? The Goddess' Loftwing asked, its voice tinged with some unknown emotion. The bird's eyes were narrow and flashed as he watched the Hylian man in front of him. Link slowly pushed himself up from the ground, spitting blood and dirt from his mouth when he was able to lift a knee. His entire left side was covered in blood now and his face looked pale. Link drew in a breath, pushing off his bent knee with his shield arm. He flashed the bird a wicked smile and jumped onto the bird's proffered back. Iry felt himself pulled in the direction the two headed._

 _"Will you help the people of Hylia to safety?" Link asked over the roar of the wind as they raced toward the Monster. His voice was strained, but filled with determination and strength. "Will you show the people the way into the sky?" Iry could no longer hear what the bird was saying, but could see from Link's face that whatever the reply had been, it had been the one he had hoped for. "I will!" He yelled out to some unheard question, the smile on his face not reaching his eyes._

 _In that instant, there was a burst of light as three dragons exploded into the sky, their voices booming as they gave a blessing to the Goddess' sword in Link's hands. The sword disappeared, appearing in Hylia's outstretched hand. With a long sweeping stroke, she split the earth beneath them. She looked up to Link, lifting the sword, which reappeared in his hands. The Loftwing flew to the split earth and deposited the injured man gently to the ground. Link struck the sword into the dirt, a huge pillar of light forming and pushing the broken earth into the air. Iry watched the man let go of the sword and slump against a rock face, his face serene as he listened to his comrades call for him. He smiled through ragged breaths, his hand falling from his side as he closed his eyes._

 _The monster let out a vicious roar of anger as the mound of earth flew higher into the sky. It shifted its angry red eyes to where Link lay, rampaging towards the man. There was another screech from the monster as it prepared to attack and a bright golden light exploding before the monster._

Iry felt a chill run down his back. Still groggy, his hand shot to his side to grab the rusted sword. He blinked slowly, looking around him. Leif was leaning against his side. Sometime during the night they must have moved closer to each other for warmth. Iry could see his breath in the cool morning air and could feel the stiffness in his clothes from the frost. He could hear the falling water further into the trail. It sounded so serene, the sounds of birds waking up adding to the music of the woods.

Iry put the sword down and leaned back again, closing his eyes to focus on the sounds around them. The humming sound was gone, he thought, though he could still imagine what it sounded like. The dream had been like nothing he had seen before. Maybe he had been thinking too much about Leif's questions and stories with the news of becoming the Hero of Hyrule. Stress, perhaps... There had been so much that had happened in the last few days. The man, Link, that voice sounded familiar. Like his father's. Iry felt a twinge of sadness, his teeth clenching.

Rom was gone, Iry thought. He clenched his eyes closed as he felt the truth of the matter hit him again. It had been his fault, he knew. Rom would be alive if Iry had been stronger. If only he hadn't been so weak. Iry felt alone, in that moment. Galien, the one who would know the most about this, had left them. Where had he gone? Was he leaving the future of Hyrule to two teenage boys who had never left the castle? Who were they up against? What if they weren't able to get to Termina? What if they did get to Termina but could get no help? What happens to the Hero of Hyrule if the reincarnation of Hylia is already dead?

Where is the entrance? Iry opened his eyes, tensing more as the stray thought broke through his own. The entrance?He looked around, sure that that hadn't been his own voice. Leif shifted next to him, waking up. He rubbed his face and gave a shiver, shaking the morning frost from him. He looked over to Iry questioningly.

"What's wrong?" Leif asked slowly, immediately becoming alert and looking around. Iry turned to look at Leif slowly. He shook his head after a moment, rising to his feet. His body was sore and stiff. He stretched out looking out to the path. Leif took a quick look inside the small pack they had with them. He frowned and shook his head, the food no longer edible.

"Let's not push our luck here." Iry said, putting the rusted sword on his back. Leif nodded and rose as well, pulling the scarf and cloak over his as he did so, leaving the pack close to the wall. Iry pursed his lips before motioning for Leif to throw him the bag, which Iry tied around his waist. The two stood still. With a long exhale, Iry clenched his fist and started to shimmy along the wall slowly, being careful to make no noise. They didn't know what was in the path way anymore; anything could have walked past them while they had slept. He shook his head, silently cursing himself. They should have taken turns watching the pathway. They were lucky nothing had spotted them. Iry and Leif stood opposite each other, on each side in the rock pathway. They slowly inched their heads to look in front of them before creeping back into the path. Iry shook his head, Leif nodding his.

The two slowly made their way out into the main path, eyes and ears straining against the fading darkness and silence. They could hear the waterfalls and could feel the breeze from the bowl. Both of them were trying to think of ways to get to the other platforms. They had no rope and there was no other way around. Perhaps they could look at the rock face and see if they were was a way to climb around. Without knowing which waterfall the entrance was behind, they weren't going to be able get to the Domain, that was a guarantee.

They reached the edge of the cliff, and looked out to the platform on the other side. The sun was starting to peak over the edge of the mountain tops, casting light into the deep bowl. The two immediately started to look around the edge again, moving as quickly as they could. Time was of the essence and with the swarms of monsters roaming the woods and mountains; they didn't have the luxury to formulate solutions.

Iry dropped to his stomach, ignoring the sharp rocks digging into his stomach as he tried to peak further over the edge. He swung a leg over the side, much to the surprise of Leif, who immediately dropped to grab Iry's wrists. Iry looked up at Leif with a smile and pulled his other leg over the ledge. He wanted to see if there were enough footholds to climb down. He was unsuccessful at finding anything, and began to pull himself back up to the ledge. Leif was still holding his wrists, but was roaming his eyes around the bowl.

 _Up_. Iry stopped moving, his eyes narrowing, knowing that Leif had said nothing. He must have imagined it. _Look up_. A shiver ran down Iry's back, as he slowly looked at Leif. Leif looked down to the young soldier, sweat forming on his face from holding Iry in an unsupported position. Iry shifted his gaze and looked up the walls on each side of the pathway. On the left side of the pathway Iry could see the remnants on a small ledge. It was almost completed eroded away and would really only allow you to climb across by with your hands. Iry pulled himself all the way over the ledge and moved Leif out of the way, his eyes still on the ledge.

"Iry?"Iry lifted a hand to grip the ledge. There was a small groove on the inside, like this pathway had been made specifically for this purpose. Iry dropped an arm to his side and stared straight ahead, a frown on his face. Leif cleared his throat and bumped a fist on Iry's head. "Are you going to explain what's going on?"

"I really don't know." Iry replied, shifting his gaze to the bottom of the bowl. Now that it was lighter, he was able to see that the bottom of the bowl was completely water. The water must feed into the river below through an underground channel. The Zora's definitely could not travel to the entrance via the wall, Iry thought to himself, looking up again. So there had to be another way in to the Domain. The ledge looked like it would bring them behind a waterfall, but Iry couldn't be certain since the rock face of the bowl was uneven and jagged in some places.

"How did you even see that?" Leif asked with a chuckle of disbelief. He faced the small ledge, his eyes moving to Iry in silent evaluation. That ledge should have been impossible to see, so how did Iry know it was there? He let out a "Hmm" and walked over to Iry, peering down into the bowl. "Well, if we fall at least we won't die right away."

"Do you think we will be able to carry ourselves that far?:Iry asked as he smiled at the Prince's sarcasm. Leif shrugged his shoulders and pulled off the cloak, tearing off more strips from the bottom. He pulled the cloth apart more and handed two pieces to Iry.

"We have no other choice, really." He said as he wrapped the cloth around his knuckles and fingers. "The most we can do is to try and see where that gets us. I'm sure you've realized it too." Leif looked up at Iry, he blueish green eyes serious. "There must be another way in through the water. I prefer not swimming in glacier water though, so let's try this route."

"It will be a little more difficult at this time." Iry said, flexing his fingers and adjusting the cloth as necessary. His hard leather bracers would offer support to his wrists, at least. He looked up to Leif. "Perhaps you should take the bracers." Iry said, looking at Leif's wrists. "I will be fine without them, but I'm not very confident your Royal hands are up to the task." Leif stopped what he was doing and slowly looked up to Iry, the corner of his mouth twitching in a small grin. He glowered at Iry, who smiled and un-clipped one of the bracers and tossed it to Leif. "At the very least put one on your lead arm."

Leif smiled and slipped the bracer onto his left hand. Iry wrapped the remaining cloth around his wrist thickly. With a deep breath and shiver down his back, he lifted a hand to grip the ledge. He was used to climbing weird obstacles, and felt if he led the way he could clear the way slightly for Leif, who was not as experienced. Iry hesitated a moment, looking at Leif who flashed him a confident grin. Should we be taking this chance? Iry thought, his gaze shifting back to his hand on the ledge. Hyrule needed Leif, especially now with the Queen and the Princess killed.

"It'll be fine, Iry." Leif said his voice sharp and bringing Iry's focus back to the moment. Iry nodded and swung himself onto the rock face, catching the ledge with his other hand and shifting his legs so his feet were against the wall. He could already feel the pull of his weight on his wrists. He clenched his teeth and started shifting across. Every now and then, he would take a few moments to scrape the ledge to provide a better handhold. He turned his head to look at Leif, noticing the strain on the Prince's face. They had been shimming across the wall for about 10 minutes now, but it felt like hours. Iry's forearms were burning intensely, but he ignored the pain and tried to move faster.

"How much farther?" Leif gasped loudly, his breathing heavy. Iry didn't respond; he didn't know. There should have been a ledge around this area. They were getting closer to the waterfall, so close in fact they could feel some spray. But still there was no ledge. Now that Iry and Leif had reached the edge of the waterfall, they could barely hear anything over the roar of the falling water. One of Leif's feet slipped on the wall, water now gently running down the wall. "Iry!"

Iry turned his head sharply to look at Leif, preparing to catch the Prince or dive after him. Leif had managed to get his footing again, but his eyes were wide. Iry gave him a questioning look, shifting a little closer to Leif.

"I can hear your damn whistling!" Leif shouted above the water. Iry pulled back a little, closing his eyes to listen. Surprisingly, he could hear a faint echo of the melody from the night before. "What is that?"

"I don't know." Iry called back, trying his best to look around and through the water. His hands were starting to slide off the ledge now that there was water on the wall. They had to figure this out quickly, or they would fall into the worst place; they would fall into the undercurrent of the massive waterfall, potentially hitting the bottom with incredible force. They would certainly drown.

 _Behind_. Iry shook his head violently. He was going crazy, he knew it. With a small burst of strength, Iry managed to swing himself around so that he was holding the wall behind him. His face was set in a deep grimace; this position was incredibly uncomfortable and painful. Through the mist of the falling water, he could see a ledge. It was close enough that they could make it if they jumped. Or so Iry guessed. He let out breath through his teeth and looked at Leif. In a quick instant, Leif manoeuvered himself into the same position as Iry, albeit he was shaking violently. This needed to happen quickly.

Iry crouched as close as he could to the wall before exploding towards the ledge. He barely was able to grab hold, his ribs a crunching against the platform's support. He pulled himself off and turned to look at Leif, who was preparing to do the same. Iry stayed close to the wall, giving a shout to Leif. Leif pushed off the wall, at the very last minute slipping. He cursed loudly, his face a picture of shock as he realized he wouldn't make the platform. Iry swung off the edge as much as he could and reached for Leif. Their hands touched but didn't meet and Leif began to fall.

Iry reached out again, this time for Leif's cloak as it whipped by. He managed to catch the end of it, causing the two to jerk downwards with force as Leif's fall was stopped abruptly. Iry let out a grunt of pain, his one arm shouldering the weight and jerk of two people. He swung the Prince back and forth, stopping when he felt the cloak slip. He tried to lift Leif up slightly, the Prince grabbing Iry's ankles. Leif's showed he was in some pain, and his breath was choked. The cloak, fastened around his neck, and done some damage but Iry couldn't tell how much. Leif reached up for Iry's leather belt as Iry himself threw us other arm up to the ledge.

Iry let out another grunt of pain as Leif carefully climbed up to the ledge. Miraculously, Leif was able to swing himself up to the ledge, immediately laying in a prone position and reaching for Iry's belt. With a big heave, Leif pulled Iry over the ledge. The two collapsed to the ground, Leif on his back and Iry on his stomach. Leif was still choking as he breathed and Iry gripped his shoulder. They glanced at each other and then burst into laughter.

"I can't believe our luck." Leif said with a deep ragged breath, sitting up. He pulled off the cloak and scarf strapping and rubbed his throat. There was an angry red line that was bleeding slight at the top of his neck. Iry nodded with a laugh.

"Neither can I…" Iry said quietly, looking around. His shoulder was injured and the unfortunate thing was that it was his dominant arm. The melody was still playing softly. Leif looked around as well. He wished he could figure out where he had heard that song before; he knew it sounded familiar but couldn't put a finger on it. Clearly it was something from the castle; he hadn't really been anywhere else. But where….

"Iry, I know this song!" Leif said, after the two had been resting for 20 minutes. Iry looked at Leif. Leif scratched at the bandages Iry had wrapped around his neck, he tried to clear his throat, but his voice remained hoarse. "My sister used to hum this song." Leif's shoulders dropped and Iry frowned. Without realizing it, they had figured out who the reincarnation was. They also realized she was probably dead.  
"Do you remember how it goes?" Iry asked, slowly standing up. His left arm was braced and tied to his side to try and stabilize it. It had partially dislocated from its socket, meaning Leif had to do an uneducated relocation of the joint. "Didn't you once tell me that there was a secret to the Zoras? Something about only the Royal family could find the entrance?" Leif folded his arms, still sitting cross legged. He nodded, trying hard to think about how the melody went. He clicked his tongue in frustration. Iry had grabbed a blade of grass and held it out to Leif.

Leif took a deep breath in and played a few notes on the grass. He closed his eyes, trying to push past the grief of losing his sister and parents and remember the notes that his sister would hum. It took Leif ten more minutes in order to figure out the melody, but once he did, he jumped to his feet and threw the broke grass away. He pulled another long blade from beside an old signpost (the sign was now missing), and started playing the melody.

The whistle of the grass echoed in the bowl. The air felt like it shifted and the sound of the waterfalls became duller. The two young men stood silently, looking around the bowl. The melody had stopped and all they could hear now was the dull roar of the water. They felt like they were in a bubble. After only a few seconds, the platform started to rumble, and a burst of air exploded from behind a waterfall behind them. The waterfall was below the platform, hidden underneath a larger waterfall. Leif and Iry looked at each other, their faces serious. The coincidences were too much.

"How do we get down?" Iry said aloud, shaking his head. He wouldn't be able to do anymore ledge climbing adventures for a little while and they didn't have the luxury of waiting. He moved to the edge, his fears confirmed. He let out a frustrated sigh and turned to Leif. "More footholds and a ledge. It looks like the ledge is a little wider than the previous one." Leif moved to edge and peered over it, crossing his arms.

"Damn." He said to himself, looking at Iry's shoulder. "We have no rope, do we?"

"We have nothing except water and the journal my father took. Even the food is useless." Iry replied, looking over the edge again.

"I could climb down before you and brace you against the wall?" Leif pondered, looking at Iry. Iry shook his head.

"There isn't enough room on the ledge. Those tiny handholds don't leave any room to manoeuvre either."

"What if we jumped into the water and tried to climb up?"

"We don't know what's in the water or how deep it his." Iry said, shaking his head. "We also don't know if there is a way to reach the ledge from the water." Leif let out a sigh.

"Could we jump from the ledge to the waterfall?" Leif turned around to look at the platform they were on. "It looks like there is enough room to run and jump?" Iry followed Leif's gaze and then looked at the waterfall.

"It would have to be a perfect run." Iry said, the frown on his face deepening. "But it isn't impossible." The wind ruffled through the long hair atop Iry's head. Leif tightened his ponytail and gave Iry a grin.

"Alright, that's the plan then." He turned around and walked to the ledge. Iry raised a thin blonde eyebrow and watched Leif prepare for his sprint. He couldn't stop the Prince and he understood the move was a dangerous one, but he couldn't help laughing inwardly. For a moment, he could forget about the Triforce of Courage and the monsters roaming unchecked across the land. He could forget about Rom and Leif's family. He took a breath in and exhaled, moving out of Leif's path, but staying near the edge so he could see Leif's hopeful landing.

With a clap of his hands, Leif began his sprint. He lowered himself slightly so that he could propel himself forward with more force. He had tucked the cloak into his belt so that it wouldn't catch or whip out behind him. When his lead foot hit the ledge, he propelled himself forward, giving a yell as he launched himself off the platform. Iry watched, his heart pounding, as Leif flew into the waterfall and out of sight.

After a moment of tense silence, Iry hear Leif gave an excited whoop. He smiled and moved back to where Leif has started his run. Iry wouldn't be able to propel himself as much with only one useful arm, but since Leif had cleared the edge easily, Iry didn't think it would be an issue. With a breath in, Iry burst forward, his legs moving impossible fast. At the ledge, he threw himself forward, bringing his legs and arm out in front of him. He passed through the water and into the mouth of a dark tunnel. One foot nicked the edge of opening, but Iry felt Leif grab hold of his arm and pull him in.

"That didn't turn out as bad as we thought it would. " Leif said quietly, letting go of Iry's arm. The two turned to look down the dark tunnel. "I can't hear anything at all and it doesn't seem like there are any torches on the wall." Iry nodded and ran his hand threw his hair, shaking out the water that was dripping down his face and back.

Leif pulled the cloak from his belt and let it fall behind him. He readjusted the hood and scarf so that it was covering his face, and pulled the edges closer together. He looked to his friend, who was staring back through the waterfall, He could tell something was up, and made a note to himself to talk to Iry about it after. Leif shivered slightly as a chill ran down his spine. He didn't sense any immediate danger, but there was something nagging at him.

"Walk carefully." Iry whispered as he started to walk forward. "This path hasn't been travelled in a very long time, so there may be intentional and unintentional obstacles." Iry was walking along the right side of the tunnel, his hand lightly touching the wall. Leif followed suit, straining his eyes to keep sight of Iry's back. They could feel a wind blowing through the tunnel, leaving Leif to assume that the tunnel wasn't very long and would lead to an open cavern of some sort.

The air felt stale to Leif, even though the air was clearly moving. The more Leif thought about it, the more that nagging feeling grew. He reached out and grabbed Iry's shoulder, pulling him backwards. Iry let out a hiss of pain and turned to look at Leif questioningly.

"Something is wrong." Leif said quietly, his eyes looking down the path in front of them. "Something doesn't feel right." Iry followed Leif's gaze before looking back at the Prince.

"What do you want us to do?" Iry asked, waiting for the Prince to reply. Leif's brows furrowed before his face relaxed. He looked at Iry and shrugged.

"Be ready for a fight?" He said quietly, trying not to let his voice quiver. Iry nodded and turned around.

"Stay here for a moment." Iry said, starting to walk forward. "I'll take a quick look and then come back." Iry started into a silent jog, disappearing from Leif's sight almost instantly. Leif prepared himself to run, either to Iry or back into the water. The silence pressed against his ears as he tried to listen for a sound. Any sounds. He began to feel impatient, shifting his weight from one foot to another.

"Leif..." Iry called. Leif immediately started moving. Iry's voice was flat, but was the most serious tone he had ever heard come from the young soldier. Something was wrong. Something was very, very wrong. Leif broke into a run, his hand still touching the wall. He could see that the darkness of the tunnel was fading slightly, eventually lessening to the extent that he could make out colours. He slowed when he saw Iry, who was standing stark straight, his eyes looking out the exit of the tunnel.

"You were right."Iry said, his voice soft but firm. "Something is very wrong." Leif Slowly walked up beside Iry, his eyes on his friend's face. Iry's face was fierce, his brows furrowed deeply and his crystal blue eyes hard. His teeth were clenched, and Leif could see the veins in Iry's neck starting to pop, his chin lowered. He was angry. Leif slowly turned his gaze to look out the exit of the tunnel. There was a large chamber, a pool of water in the center and a small water fall at the top, the water falling from a carved tunnel. Leif drew in a sharp, quick breath when he looked out to the room.

The water was red with blood. Bodies of Zora were scattered about the room and in the water. Mixed in were Castle soldiers and monsters. Pinned to the wall next to the tunnel entrance above was the most gruesome image. Leif fell to his knees, his hands on the sides of his head as he let out a small choked cry of anger.

Pinned with a spear to the wall was Rom's body, a blue scarf with the Royal emblem wrapped loosely around his neck.


	7. Chapter 7: Calm before the storm

Leif let out a growl, dropping his hands to his side and standing up again. Without a word he jumped to the ground and made his way to Rom. Iry jumped down after him, slowly increasing his speed until he was running across the room to Rom. Leif watched as Iry stopped in front of Rom, his narrow blue eyes seething. With his good arm, he reached up and grasped the shaft of the big, black spear. Leif grabbed hold of Rom's hips and held on while Iry pulled the spear from the rock with one tug.

Rom's body fell into Leif's arms, the weight shocking Leif. Iry tossed the spear to the side and helped lay Rom's body down. It looked like Rom had been dragged on a dirt road, the thought infuriating Iry even more. Leif pulled the scarf off Rom's neck and let out a loud yell. The two young men could feel the rage boiling over inside of them. This was wrong on so many levels. Iry turned to the wall and punched it as hard as he could, splitting his knuckles open. He knelt down beside Rom, pulling his shoulders so that he was embracing the cold body.

Leif stood up and looked around. There were so many questions he had. Why was Rom here? Did the enemy know the plan? How? Why were there so many Zora? Why did the Soldiers come here? Where was Galien? Where should they go now? He clenched his eyes shut as tears started to form. The scarf had been his sisters. This had been a message. To him or the people of Hyrule? He was beyond angry. He walked away from Iry and Rom, intent on going to the tunnel above the waterfall.

Iry clutched his father's body close, tears of anger and sadness freely flowing down his face. He was angry at Rom, angry at the monster horde that had done this. Most of all, he was angry at himself. He would always blame Rom's death on himself. The state that Rom made it even worse. What a cruel and merciless act. He laid his father's body gently onto the ground. He reached for the necklace Rom had always worn and pulled it off. The necklace had a silver chain with a metal piece built into it. The metal was the Royal Crest with a sword behind it. It was a simple design, but Rom had never taken the necklace off. He had once told Iry that it had been his grandfather's. He slipped the necklace over his head and walked away.

"Leif." Iry's voice was sharp and emotionless. He walked to the water's edge and look up the waterfall. Leif came out of the tunnel, walking in the water.

"It's empty." Leif replied, jumping back to the main level. He walked over to one of the soldiers and rolled the body over. He took a deep breath and pulled off the cloak and scarf. He pulled off the dirty Royal garments, keeping on his white undershirt and chain mail. He pulled off the soldier's tunic and slid it over himself, his nose crinkling as he did so. Iry had taken the rusted sword out and tossed it into the water. He unclipped the leather chest straps and pulled it off. He deftly took a scabbard from another fallen soldier and attached it to the straps, pulling it back around his shoulders and chest and fixing it in place. He picked up a sword and wiped it on a torn scarf then placed the silver blade into the sheath on his back.

"If anything, we can find some useful supplies." Leif spoke out, his voice soft so it didn't echo. He had started to pull a belt off another soldier, fixing the scabbard and sword on his hip. The two carefully chose items that did not resemble soldier gear and did not have the crest of the Royal guard on it. This unfortunately didn't leave much so they had to scrape the carvings out of swords and armour. Iry fixed a metal shoulder piece to his injured shoulder. The weight caused him some pain, but it was better than an unprotected injury. He spent the next few moments moving from one place to another and pulling any useful weapons and equipment he could find, silently thanking each soldier as he went.

Leif pulled a pouch from a Bulbin and began to roll up some rope. He kicked the dead creature in the head once out of frustration before continuing with his task. Iry wandered off from the main room to look for water pouches and food. He walked quietly down a tunnel, making sure he was still able to navigate his way back. He stopped suddenly and listened to the tunnel sounds. He quieted his breathing and stood perfectly still. hadn't imagined that. As he listened closer, he could hear the shrill squeals of Moblins and Bulbins. With a breath in, he swung around and silently started to run back to the main chamber. Leif looked up at Iry, acknowledged the urgency of the look on his face and clipped the pack close. He swung it over his shoulder and pulled the scarf rom had given him around the lower half of his face.

Iry stopped beside Leif and looked at Rom once more. They would definitely be discovered, solely on the fact that Rom was no longer on the wall. Leif, recognizing the issue, pushed passed Iry and pulled a soldier closer to Rom. He placed the spear close by, attempting to recreate a scene. Not waiting to analyze the scene further, Leif took off up the stairs of the water fall, Iry following close behind.

They walked briskly through the short tunnel, coming into what used to be a royal chamber. The place looked ransacked, but there were no bodies. The room looked like it hadn't been used in a very long time, in any case. Iry, following the water flow, moved into the little pond of water where a destroyed throne sat. Leif turned and stood by the tunnel, listening to the sounds of the chamber below. If they couldn't find a passage out, there was another tunnel to the right of the chair. Leif had glanced at it quickly; it had only gone to another huge bowl filled with water.

"Found it." Iry said, clicking a brick into the wall. There was a groaning sound as a piece of the wall behind the throne cracked apart slightly to show a door. Like any throne room, there had to be a secret exit. Iry pushed against the stone slab, his face straining. Leif came over and started to push with him. Within a few moments, there was a gap in the wall large enough for the two to slip through. Once on the other side, they pushed the slab back in place.

"Hopefully this isn't a dead end…." Leif said, his voice low as they stared at the closed door. Once again, there was no light in the tunnel, but through the middle there was a small stream. Making sure they did not disturb the water, the two began their walk through the tunnel, unsure of where they would end up. They had hoped they would be able to rest and get more information while they were here, but luck wasn't on their side.

"Let's take a quick break." Leif said, stopping and looking into the darkness of the tunnel. Iry nodded, though Leif could not really see the movement. They had been walking for quite a while now. The tunnel continued to wind around and soon the two lost their senses of direction. They had wound around and gone up and down hill so often they were beginning to become uneasy in regards to where they would dome out.

"Did Galien ever talk to you about this way?" Iry asked, his voice a little sharp.

"Never came up." Leif replied, untying his hair and running a hand through it. Iry hummed a moment and pulled out a water canteen. He took a sip and tapped Leif's leg with a foot. Leif turned and took the canteen and looked forward again. "I wonder where he went off too."

"Where ever he went, he isn't dead." Iry said as he stood up from the ground. Leif handed him the canteen again, which he closed and put back into his pack.

"I agree." Leif began walking again. With a thumb in his belt, Iry followed the Prince. "Iry, I have a question for you." Iry waited quietly.

"What is it?" Iry asked, when Leif said nothing more.

"How did you know about the ledge?" Leif didn't look at Iry's face, but kept his eyes straight ahead. Iry drew in a breath and pursed his lips.

"I was told." He said simply. Leif twitched his head to Iry slightly, his eyes remaining ahead.

"What are you dreaming at night?" Iry slowed his pace slightly.

"Why are you asking?"

"Because it's dangerous." Leif said, stopping and looking at Iry, "You aren't a silent sleeper. That could put us in danger." Iry narrowed his eyes to Leif, his thin eyebrows furrowing deeply.

"I dream of warriors that are me." Iry said coldly. "They all die. Everytime." Leif said nothing and moved not an inch. After a moment, he turned forward and started walking again. "I can feel a shift in the air." Iry said flatly, a dozen minutes later. "The exit must be near." He pushed past Leif, skirting along the edge of the tunnel and out of sight from Leif, who continued to walk at an even pace. About five minutes later, Iry came running back. "It's Lake Hylia."

"Lake Hylia?" Leif repeated as he increased his pace. "We've come this far South?"

"We've completely bypassed the Lost Woods and the Sacred Forest Meadows." Iry acknowledged.

"Do you think this is what Galien had intended for us to do?"

"I have no idea." Iry said, shaking his head. "Galien has always been full of secrets." Leif nodded as they turned a corner. The darkness of the tunnel was starting to fade, the light becoming so bright it burned Leif's eyes. Once his eyes adjusted, he looked out of the tunnel. The entrance was hidden by vines and rocks. Underneath the entrance was a small piece of grass on the edge of the lake.

"How did we get here this quickly?" Leif asked aloud. He knew Iry wouldn't have the answer. It was physically impossible for them to have arrived in Lake Hylia in only a few hours. The trip should have taken at least a day.

"Perhaps we took the most direct route?"Iry suggested, reaching for a vine. "If this really is the only escape tunnel for the Zora Royal family, it would have to be a way for a Zora to escape. They aren't as effective on dry land as they are in the water."

"Clearly I don't know as much about the land of Hyrule as I thought I did…" Leif whispered. Iry gave him a grin and moved some vines slightly to peak out to the lake. The lake was still and Iry could hear the birds chirping. He couldn't see any signs of monster, person or Zora in the area. A house sat on a small piece of land pillar in the middle of the lake, but there was no smoke coming from the chimney.

"It doesn't look like there is anything or anyone around." Iry said turning to Leif. "Maybe I should go first."

"You have a useless arm." Leif said bluntly. "You're good but I doubt even you would be able to fend off a planned attack." Iry took a deep breath in and exhaled slowly, thinking about the situation.

"Alright." He said, turning back to the vines and quietly sliding down the ledge. Leif followed suit, trying hard not to shift the vines too much. They crept out of the vines slowly and slipped into the cool waist deep water, staying close to the rock face. When they reached the beach of the Lake, they looked around. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, they relaxed a little, Leif removing his hand from his sword.

"Let's go look into that house." Iry said, pointing to the only building in the area. "We may find food and useful materials there."

"And perhaps a place to rest for a moment and collect our thoughts." Leif nodded. The two started running to the bridges leading to the house. For that brief moment in time, they didn't feel like that they were in danger. With no hesitation, they turned onto the wooden bridges and sprinted across to the house. Maintaining some caution, they slowly opened the door, ready to strike if they needed to. Leif watched the field behind them in case anything or anyone tried to ambush them on the earth pillar the house was on.

"Looks clear." Iry said as he opened the door and walked in. Leif followed closely and shut the door behind him. The house was one room and wasn't the tidiest. There were books spread across tables and the floor and on bookshelves. An unmade bed was in the furthest corner and there was a small staircase in the center of the room leading to the roof.

Iry moved to the pantry in the kitchen, ignoring everything else. They hadn't eaten in days, and really they just needed something in their stomachs. Opening the pantry, he saw that the majority of food was gone or rotten. No one had been here for a while.

"Iry." Leif called, tossing a loaf of bread to him. Iry caught it with one hand, dropping the moldy apple he was holding onto the floor. The bread was stale, but still edible. He took a huge bite and chewed. Reaching into a second cabinet, exclaimed and pulled out a sack, identifying the contents by the smell. He moved to sit by Leif, opening the bag and reaching in to pull out strands of dried meat. They two laughed and began to eat the jerky.

"What did you mean when you said you were told about the ledge?" Leif asked a few hours later. The two were lying on the roof, opposite the field so that they wouldn't be seen. Iry, who was sat with his head against the wall of the doorway, looked down to Leif. The Prince lay on his back with his hands behind his head, eyes closed and one knee propped against the other.

"It's difficult to explain."Iry replied, looking out to the water. "There are times when I feel my body isn't mine alone. I hear a voice in my head."

"So you're going insane, then." Leif said, a smile on his face as he tried to lighten the mood.

"I think so." Iry rubbed his shoulder. He had removed the armour and his weapons, but still felt like the weight was there. His shoulder didn't hurt as much anymore, but he knew it was still injured. He looked at Leif's neck. It was swollen and was turning a deep shade of blue and purple. Leif's voice was still very hoarse and sore; he was constantly clearing his throat after he spoke.

"I read once that each Hero had a helper." Leif said, his voice soft. "Even the first Hero had a companion, though the pairing of the first lasted only a few hours, according to the legends."

"You think the voice in my head is supposed to be my companion?" Iry asked with a snicker. "I'll hold on to the thought that I am going insane. After all, things have been unbelievable since this symbol appeared on my hand." Leif lifted his head so he was looking at Iry, albeit upside down.

"What about the dreams." Iry shrugged.

"The dreams started about a year ago." Iry said, closing his eyes.

"And…." Leif prompted, resting his head down again.

"I didn't think they were important, but I did record them. Rom took the journal before we left. It's in my pack." Leif hummed and closed his eyes again.

"What was the most recent one?"

"It was different than the rest." Iry shifted uncomfortably.

"How so?"

"I was part of it. I realize now…. Those dreams are the memories of previous heroes."Iry said, running a hand through his hair. "The last dream was the beginning. It was the death of the first hero, Link." Leif raised himself onto his elbows and turned to face Iry,

"Are you serious?" He asked his voice completely flat. Iry looked at Leif, whose face was blank. Something in Leif's eyes had changed, but he didn't say anything.

"I am." Iry said after a tense moment, the two young men still staring at each other. Leif gave an exaggerated blink and dropped back to the roof.

"Well if that isn't proof you're the Hero's reincarnation I don't know what is!" He exclaimed with a chuckle. Iry clicked his tongue, but didn't press Leif about his reaction. The laugh and comment sounded incredibly forced. Leif was keeping something quiet and Iry guessed it was that he hadn't mentioned this to the Prince at all since it had started. It had been Iry's secret, where the two had never kept secrets from each other.

The conversation died away then, the two lapsing into silence as they watched the sun set. The wind had picked up and the air grew colder. Eventually, the two rose and descended into the house. They had decided to stay for at least a few days to try and reorganize, plan, and rest. There was a vast amount of information about the surrounding land in the house, including maps and other historical documents. They wouldn't get any news of what was happening outside of the lake, but they would be able to make good use of the time. They were also hoping they would catch a glimpse of an escaped soldier or Zora.

It wasn't until 2 days later that Iry noticed a change in the sky; dark clouds started to form and push south. There had not been a single soul seen since their arrival. He hopped down the stairs, being careful not to swing too hard on his left arm. He moved to the table they had set by the window overlooking the field by the lake, where Leif was bent over a map of Hyrule and Termina.

"We should be prepared to leave." Iry said, leaning against the table. "There are signs that trouble will be coming this way soon." Leif nodded and looked up at the dark clouds in the distance.

"I noticed it too." He said as he hopped onto the table. "I don't think there is anything other information we can grab in this place. We need to get a move on."

"We've taken pretty much all the food that's left as well." Iry added, crossing his arms. He looked out to the field again. "Will we need to pass through Hyrule fields and Gerudo Valley or have you found a different way?"

"I have looked these maps over so much I have them memorized. I can't see any other way to get to Termina aside from passing through the desert." Leif said looking back at the map. "Perhaps there was once another way, but that would have had to be thousands of years ago."

"That is definitely one area I would rather not travel through." Iry shook his head. "To think that there were caravans readily passing through it all. How have they not figured out an easier, less exposed and dangerous way?"

"Some pass through the mountain range." Leif responded, hopping off the table and pointing to a section of the map between Lake Hylia and the desert. "I imagine there are better paths through here. There are probably even some new villages not on this map as well. But without an accurate map and someone who knows that way, I don't think we should chance it. We need to get to Termina as soon as possible."

"Would you happen to know where the Sheikah village is now?" Iry asked, knowing the answer was more than likely a no. Leif shook his head.

"Galien never talked about it."

"Alright, so we travel through Gerudo territory." Iry stepped forward and looked at a pile of clothes on a shelf. "We need to look less like a soldier and a prince and more like wanderers."

"We leave in the morning." Leif said, walking over to the pile of clothing. Iry nodded, glancing back out the window again.

"Unless something forces us to leave sooner." Iry caught a black shirt Leif had thrown at him. "If that happens, which direction are we going?"

"There are really only two three ways we can leave here, unless we somehow scale the side of the bowl." Leif didn't turn to face Iry, still rooting through the clothing. "Through the main entry to the lake. It is blocked by three separate gates, so would take the longest time for us to pass through. The second way is to go back through the tunnel we came in from, but we can't open the door again. The third is to dive into the lake and fine the entrance shown on the map. It will lead us back to the lost woods though, and that is opposite of where we want to be."

"Is that whole way submerged?" Iry asked, pulling off the blue tunic he was wearing currently. The shirt Leif had thrown his was too small, sticking to him closely. The sleeves barely went past his elbows, but were long enough to tuck into his pants. He walked over and grabbed another larger black shirt and quickly slid his silver chain-mail on and covered it up with the baggy black shirt. Leif didn't have any better luck with his choices. Leif was bigger than Iry, so his selection was significantly declined.

"I imagine it would be." Leif said as he slid a white shirt over a long black turtleneck and his own chainmail. "We look ridiculous, Iry"

"We should be grateful we look ridiculous and not important." Iry said with a frown. He agreed they looked like fools. The clothing they were wearing didn't fit either of them very well, and it was noticeable. "So the only path we can take is through the main entry to the lake."

"Unfortunately, yes." Leif sighed, looking at Iry. "We were lucky we were able to find this place, but it doesn't necessarily work in our favour of a swift exit of Hyrule."

"Alright, perhaps we should start travelling at dusk?" Leif sucked in a long breath as he thought about it.

"It is an idea." Leif said. Iry fixed a stare at Leif. Leif grinned and shrugged. "It doesn't matter when we leave. If we leave during the day we will be seen by who knows what. If we leave and night or dusk, we run the risk of encountering a swarm."

"Yes, but when would the Prince prefer to leave." Iry asked again, his voice dripping with sarcasm. Leif took in another breath.

"Before dawn, I think." Iry nodded and moved to their small bags.

"Then we should take the evening to discuss our plan and gather materials for the trip." He dumped out the contents of their bags onto the floor. "We should travel fairly light. Even if we are currently close to the autumn weather, the desert will still be incredibly unforgiving."

"Agreed." Leif turned back to the table and started rolling up some maps. "You know, I would live to take a look at that journal sometime, if you don't mind." Iry didn't reply. He knew that Leif would ask to see if at some point, it was just the natural curiosity he had. Iry snatched the book from the floor and in one motion tossed it to Leif. He didn't want to keep it anymore since it really didn't hold any value to him. Leif caught it with both hands and looked at Iry, setting the book down on the table after a few minutes. He gave a nod and went back to his own tasks.

As the sun began to set hours later, the two sat in silence eating a small portion of food. Their completed packs were sitting next to the stairwell in the middle of the room, ready for a quick departure. The clouds in the distance had continued to move closer to the lake, growing in darkness the closer they came. Leif was quietly reading the journal, stopping every few pages to look at Iry, who himself was studying an old text he had grabbed from the shelf. When he reached the last page, Leif closed the journal and set it on the floor. He stared at it, pondering about its contents.

He stood up and picked the book up, making his way to the small fire place. Without hesitation, he threw it into the fire. Iry looked up from his book for a moment, watching the pages light on fire. He took a deep breath in closed his book and leaned his head against the wall. The two watched the last of the book disintegrate.

"Just like I need to keep my linage a secret," Leif said, his eyes reflecting the fire. "We need to keep you a secret as well. At least until we are prepared to take on whatever it is that is taking over the land." Iry raised his left hand and stared at the faint mark. Leif had given him the bracer back, and it would do well to hide the mark somewhat. They had also found a pair of leather gloves in a trunk. They were old and stiff and didn't fit right with the gear Iry already had, but as they were doing with everything else, he would make do. He clenched his hand into a fist and nodded.

"I will take the first watch tonight, Leif." Iry said standing up. "Sleep while you can."


End file.
